THINKIN' SPRING

Let's help each others with links to keep us in there

someone start this? I'm xhixksnz!!!!!!!!

Ok, I'll start - today I brushed back a few leaves and discoverd some Daffs poking up, also some crocus. Won't be long now till it all starts over! My Daphne Odora, and Rhodis are full of buds, and several camellias are blooming. It's a beautiful day near 70, spring is in the air.

It is 62 degrees here in Northern Ohio today. Unusual for January. This past week has been in the 50's. So I went outside to look around. My garlic is coming up ! And the leopardbane looks perfect like it does in the spring. A couple of daylilies are sprouting too. The oddest thing is, we had so much rain last summer, the grass never turned brown. Every time the snow melts, the grass is still green !

Boy, it surely felt like spring here in the NC mountains today. Musta been close to 70 degrees!

I was quite tempted to cut down some of the dead perennial stalks, but they are sheltering some tiny new growth already, and I know it will get cold again. In fact, I think I saw snow showers forecast for next weekend.

We have a FUN party we usually host here on a February afternoon. It's a Beach Party, Inside! Everyone is to wear beach shorts, sandals, colorful shirts, etc. even if it's under their overcoats or they change here. We take all the furniture out of the living room and spread those big colorful beach towels all over the floor.

Everyone brings a summer picnic dish and we have a great time! I used to have a plastic shower curtain covered with palm trees and flamingos and we'd put that over the plate glass window in the living room, and have inflatable beach balls and other beach stuff all around.

More often than not, it has been snowing for our Beach Party, but it's incredible how it really lifts our spirits!

I don't have any of the photos in digital format, and no scanner so I cannot post photos.

We had an unusual high of 62 degrees today and the sun was out to boot! Although we've had a lot of snow already, there is certainly more in store and the local ski resort is saying that there will be skiing abundant on St. Patrick's Day.

darius, a high of 76 here today! (I'm about 4-5 hrs east of darius, folks.)

That beach party sounds fun! Maybe I should do that here one day in Feb! What a great idea!

As for thinkin' spring...I'm still working numbers, cruising a few catalogs, records, and wondering how much I'm gonna wanna work this year! So much to do to get ready!

Oh, by the way...Karrie, what does "I'm xhixksnz!" mean? (As for me, I'm befuddled!)

We had spring like weather here in Knoxville yesterday, and hopefully, again today. It gave me a chance to take all the plants outside, hose them down to knock off the aphids, and clean up all the dead foliage. Then I rearranged both garages so that there is room for both overwintering plants and cars! I felt like I could hear the plants saying "thank you, thank you". And DH was happy that everything wasn't all junked up anymore. I am sure that this mild weather is merely a brief reprieve before real winter sets in.

The beach party idea sounds like a real mood lifter.

Now, I need to sort my seeds and plan out which seeds to start and when. I have a few things to start now, but most of my indoor seed starting doesn't really get going until late February.

Down to 26 and expecting a snowstorm here- 10 inches they're saying. Just brings me closer to spring. Grape Hyacinths were just poking up thru the ground on Fri. Only 4 more months of this cold stuff - can time fly by any sooner???

It's currently 73º - we've had a few 'cold snaps' and a couple of short freezes, but winter has yet to arrive.

My Apostle Plant (walking iris) is blooming in my Mary Garden and my Easter Lilies are growing out of season. Weeds are taking over the older beds (I worked on that a bit this AM). There is a single flower on DD's purple cone flower plant. Impatiens are blooming around the patio. There is a bud on my Mom's rose bush (if you can call it a bush - I cut it way back a couple months ago, it's more like a stick.) One hibiscus has a half opened bloom, another has a promising bud. And the shamrocks (oxalis crassipes) are blooming their sweet little hearts out.

The banana tree we adopted is unfurling a new leaf - silly banana tree. Tiny little bearded iris foliage is poking out of the mulch. Louisiana iris and swamp iris are getting ready for their big show in the spring - tall healthy foliage. And the white Cala Lily plant is acting like it's on steroids, lots and lots of huge lush foliage (it doesn't have the sense to go dormant) - no flowers. Add in the lycoris, Dutch iris, and amaryllis ... I've got lots of green stuff happening.

But, all of my hostas have gone dormant, as have the 'dormant' type daylilies. The oaks have lost most of their leaves (which are all over the yard *sigh*).

I've been trying to plan my new butterfly/hummingbird garden, but I just can't picture it. There is just something about this time of year - even with the warm weather, spring seems soooooo far away.

Cheri'

Here in Chicago we are expecting a lot of snow(6-10inches), but only yesterday I was in the yard scoping out a new hosta bed and a place for some groundcover roses. My DH says I am trying to eliminate all the grass in the yard! I think he is right. Who needs grass anyway?
A few of my plants were trying to sprout so I covered them up a bit more to protect from the snow. Spring will come soon, if we can make it through January and February! However, the red twig dogwoods do look nice this year.
Still dreaming of spring.
My grandson (David)spent the night last night, what a joy at 6 months! The pic is him with his Mommy.

lotsadirt, ur daughter and grandbaby are beautiful!!!! u must be very proud.. and cheri, ur a lucky dog with all that is green and blooming!!! all i have is a few of my daffs blooming.. below is a pic.. the weather would have been wonderful today if it werent for that dang cold wind!!!! it did ease up later in the day around 3, and then it warmed up ... once the sun went over the hill it got cold again... but i did alot of planting of summer bulbs today... my spring should last another two months including jan.. alot of my bulbs are poking out of the dirt but only one kind of daff has bloomed... i forget what kind at the moment...but i guess they are suppose to bloom around dec thru march or april.. i noticed the one blooms on Christmas day!!!! (:
chrissy

Thanks, they are beautiful. So is that flower!

Well, we got 4 inches of snow, and the snowblower worked. Could have been worse. Nice to spend the day with the baby.

Thanks all, for cheering up my winter.

This message was edited Jan 14, 2004 4:46 PM

We had a real cold spell a week ago, then lotza snow. Now it's warming up and melting (yeah!). Last night I did research on shade flowers for the garden I'm planning next Spring - trying to get varieties with different bloom times. I actually found some that bloom in the winter! Can't wait until late Feb to early Mar when I start seeds indoors.

Everything here is covered with at least 6 inches of snow so it will be quite a while before it looks anything like spring. More snow in the forecast.

I love you for this thread... My Iberis is all abloom. so neat in 30-40 degree weather... but our heather is blooming purple & white...

I am seriously thinking about hellebores...

This message was edited Jan 13, 2004 7:27 PM

This message was edited Jan 15, 2004 8:43 PM

well hello all , i went to my local nursery today and they have some SAD looking daylilies , although some were nice looking... they wanted $8.00 , is that a good price? i guess it depends on the kind huh.. anyway , i have been working my tail off for the past 3 days.. the weather has been nothing like winter!!! for the past two days it has been 80 degrees! i am soaking it up before it turns to winter again!!! i went out today and helped my hubbys worker dig our footers for our foundation ... now tomarrow i have some flowers to plant that i got from home depot.. hubby is buying some tool or something for work and said he is gonna give me some money for daylilys!!!! little does he know , thanks to RON (: , i had ordered two daylilys form gilberts,,(; but thats ok,.. i cant wait to buy some more, i wish i knew what the setup is gonna be for around the house but there is too many ditches dug up , so i will have to wait at least till the siding is on ,..lol.. maybe once the outter shell is done on the house i can post it on DG and get u guys opinion.. sometimes i feel clueless... (: anyway , hope all ya had a great day , and wish me luck on actually getting those plants planted tomarrow before i have to go out and help dig more footers..(:
chrissy

opps i meant to post this to the daylily forum.. sorry guys..(:
chrissy

That's ok cici77 - this is certainly a springtime subject. But if you want to put it on the daylily forum, you can just copy and paste it there. I know you will really be proud when you get done, are we ever done??

Ah, the beauty of it. We are never done! I've got so many landscaping plans in my head. Actually, now is a good time to dig for me (soft earth) and not such a good time. Clay soil...lots of rain (Seattle) = clumps, and packed soil. But I am determined to get the pond dug and those new borders done. I really want to be able to enjoy the garden this year....you know...actually sitting down with a nice glass of iced tea and a BOOK. :-D

well thanx Azalea, i will copy and paste it , i havent as of yet... but i will, well i didnt have to dig footers today, instead i had ALOT more fun..lol.. i went to Home Depot and bought my weeping cherry tree i have wanted for 3 years.. whenever i would look at online catalogs they could never send it to california.. i was bumbed... but toaday i got one.. FINALLY!!!! I havent planted that yet.. i will prob tomarrow.. but i planted a bunch of the tall snapdragons, and light pink and light purple Stock , i planted english and french lavender, i also planted purple, pink and yellow tiny tiny snapdragons (cant remeber their actual name but they look like barbie doll size snap dragons) , a beautiful purple daisy like flower that looks like the petals are recurved.. ( i left all the tags outside..sorry...) another lighter purple daisey like flower , like the one i just descibed but tiny also... a bunch of panseys and still have three 6 packs to plant... a butterfly iris, and some other blue lily, i am sorry i cant remember, i am sooo tired from digging all day.. boy gardening sure shows how out of shape i am...lol..i also still have a pink jasmine to plant and a pink canna lily to plant...i also planted a 'garden party' daylily, and a mystery gardenia, i have a bunch of pics but they arent that good because of the time of day i got started and the lighting... but here is a few pics anyway..(:
chrissy

i am sorry the pic isnt very "pretty" , i forgot to mention dont mind the pile of wood in the back ground or the big mound of dirt.. the dirt is from out septic system we are putting in and the neighbor has to fill it on friday or around then, and the wood will be moved around the same time too.. in the background , to the right, that is the butterfly lily, and behind the snapdragons by the log is the stock, it borders the front of my oriental lily bed.. to the left next to the log, is the garden party daylily, to the right of the snap dragons and the log is the mystery gardenia, behind the oriental lily bed is the unplanted jasmine, to the far left , the paler blueish green plant, it one of the lavenders.. i think that covers this pic..lol
chrissy

here is a night-time pic (just when i finished for tonight) of the same area but at a different angle..

Well, I took advantage of our mid-50 degree weather the past few days and did some serious Bermuda weed removal from the veggie garden paths (and have the sore fingers to prove it), and - best of all - when I looked around the woodland area, I spotted Polemoniums and Aquilegias popping up. ('Course, they better take cover, because winter isn't always this mild here.)

Around front, the Hellebores are coming on strong, and I'm hopig they'll put on a good bloom for me this year (it's their second full year in the bed.)

No sign of daffs or tulips yet, which is a good thing - it's still several weeks too early for them to even think about sending up new shoots :)

My little greenhouse is holding several plants, some of which are trying to bloom (like the Claytonias, silly things...) and the potted daylilies are dormant but not completely died down.

And so far - knock on wood - the water hyacinths and water lettuce look pretty happy in their temporary GH "pond" (a heavy duty black horsetrough)

I have several good sized clumps of hellebores, 3-4 yrs old - they have always been blooming by now, but this year, I don't have a sign of a bud on any of them?? Maybe because I divided them too much last year. I need to cut back the old leaves, I really hate to do it because they look so healthy and bright amid the fallen leaves. I've read this is the thing to do to give the new growth more strength.

Let's see if this will post.

Pretty - is this rosemary??

Looks like Rosemary to me!

It is my Erica darlyensis... Heather... I love it...
Thank you.
Ab

This is our red heather... so cool

cici... that is really a pretty bloom... I like the arrangement... Is it penstemon?

hi southernohio, those blooms in the front are snapdragons and the ones in the back are stock.. i looove the smell of stock.. well yesterday i noticed two of my 'blue pearl' crocus bloomed.. and there are 4 more today opening up!!! here are some pics... (: oh and s.ohio i loove ur heather.. its beautiful!!!!

here are a few more...(:
chrissy

another

I can't figure out why there is so much blooming. Could it be all the rain we had last spring thru fall? It sure isn't the warm weather.

And what a great surprise...Crocus... heralder of spring.
ab

hi s.ohio.. well we didnt get much rain this year.. only 3" , but for the past two weeks we have been in the mid 70's and 80's it has been very nicely warm.. i even had to wear shorts yesterday and the day before that while i was planting!!! yesterday i had only two crocus blooming today i had 6 blooming!!! and the ones that were blooming yesterday , are taller and u can see that the base of the flower is orange where yesterday the flower was right at the leaves and u couldnt see the orange at the base.. anyway , today was 79 degrees.. we have a slight chance of rain on monday.. but i doubt it.. we have one heck of a windy season though!!!
chrissy

My son's family has just bought an older house that has not been occupied in almost a year. I went to help clear out the yard and see what I could see! We cleared out dead branches of Azalea, they are just full of buds now, and they have a huge forsythia hedge that has a few little blooms that have already popped open They have lots of little iris coming up and at least 2 daffodils ready to bloom. They plan to move soon after the 1st of March - a wonderful time to move I think, they will then be able to see more of what is there. My DIL has been digging and moving her favs to the new yard for the past couple of weeks.

I wish them all the luck in their new home...and garden....

I agree, March in Ga would be a good time to move into that new old house. She will be able to see what is there for the whole growing season, and this is the ideal time to be transplanting her own plants into the mix. The old stalks would still be there to show where some of the treasures are hiding. How exciting!

I loved the blast of spring last week, and did find a few blooms peeking out and taking the plunge into the sunshine. They sure do smell good!

Here's a pic of my front garden 2 years ago in the Spring. I have made LOTSA changes in it since then, and will post a new one when it starts blooming again.