"A gardener learns more in the mistakes than in the successes."
– Barbara Dodge Borland
1/21/17:
The cats and I were happy to get out in the yard for a while today, in between rainshowers. Looking around for things to photograph and write about, I didn't see much in bloom at the moment. But the lush, wet leaves on many plants seemed to glow in the grayish morning light, so I took a few shots here and there.
The currant bush is growing well, with additional stems now branching out from the tallest part. In this same pot, the narcissus bulbs have sprouted, and some mint has come back. I'd thought this plant had died out, good to see it returning.
Clicking on the small images below will bring up a larger version.
Currant bush, narcissus under it.
One of a few honeysuckle blooms.
Soggy seedlings, nasturtiums.
Earlier this week, I discovered a big, tangled pile of bareroot rosebushes for sale in front of the local Grocery Outlet. I carefully extracted two of these to buy: only $5.99 each! Today I planted them in nice big pots that had contained tomatoes last summer.
Then I checked out how my other rosebushes were doing, gave them a bit of fertilizer, and weeded out some excess ivy, oxalis, and nasturtiums from the pots. I'm eagerly anticipating new leaves on the bare, thorny branches.
Over in the "vegetable patch" area, I studied the array of pots and planter boxes that are currently empty. Only a bit of lettuce is growing there for now. I did plant radishes not too long ago, but they might need more sunshine than we're getting in order to start growing. I think I'll fill fewer of these containers with tomatoes this year. I'll try planting snap peas before long, and perhaps experiment further with root vegetables such as parsnips.
Bringing roses home.
Only lettuce here at the moment.
Grumpy Rock is impatient for spring.
