This spring seems both accelerated and compressed. Everything is happening at once. I went on a walkabout this afternoon to get a closer look. Apricots and peaches have finished blooming but I found the apple tree about to burst into bloom.
Tulips and narcissus are in full swing, while the daffodils dried up while we were away. Even the lilacs are about to bloom and our native redbud trees are in full bloom.
Violets and grape hyacinths spangle the grass.
All of these things have never happened here all at once. It's no wonder I'm sneezing with so many kinds of pollen in the air. Here's a closeup of a tulip's pollen; most is still on the stamens but some pollen appears as brown flecks on the tulip petals.
On I went to the garden. Because we went on vacation, the spring garden has not been planted, but the garlic and shallots planted last fall are growing like weeds. So are a few turnip plants that survived the winter.
The turnips are no good to eat. I'll leave a couple of the plants to set seeds, though. This one is about to bloom, so seeds are not far away.
Enough wandering around Paradise, looking at blossoms. It was time to harvest spinach and lettuce for supper. Bless these rickety old cold frames. They've fed us all winter long. Spinach and self-seeded lettuce are abundant in this one.
And in the oldest cold frame there's more lettuce, a mix of buttercrunch and romaine. It was sown too thickly and although we've been thinning it all winter it's still too crowded for heads to develop.
Anyone who is building a cold frame should make it shallow from front to back. The back of the cold frame should be no farther than one can reach from the front. Both of ours, one made at a Department of Agriculture Extension workshop, are far too deep, especially when surrounded by bales of straw insulation.
Well, enough of that. I don't know what to make of this spring except to make the best of it, to enjoy it for what it is, early and intense. The walkabout was lovely and I didn't worry a bit about how hot the summer will be. It's spring!
Tulips and narcissus are in full swing, while the daffodils dried up while we were away. Even the lilacs are about to bloom and our native redbud trees are in full bloom.
Violets and grape hyacinths spangle the grass.
All of these things have never happened here all at once. It's no wonder I'm sneezing with so many kinds of pollen in the air. Here's a closeup of a tulip's pollen; most is still on the stamens but some pollen appears as brown flecks on the tulip petals.
On I went to the garden. Because we went on vacation, the spring garden has not been planted, but the garlic and shallots planted last fall are growing like weeds. So are a few turnip plants that survived the winter.
The turnips are no good to eat. I'll leave a couple of the plants to set seeds, though. This one is about to bloom, so seeds are not far away.
Enough wandering around Paradise, looking at blossoms. It was time to harvest spinach and lettuce for supper. Bless these rickety old cold frames. They've fed us all winter long. Spinach and self-seeded lettuce are abundant in this one.
And in the oldest cold frame there's more lettuce, a mix of buttercrunch and romaine. It was sown too thickly and although we've been thinning it all winter it's still too crowded for heads to develop.
Anyone who is building a cold frame should make it shallow from front to back. The back of the cold frame should be no farther than one can reach from the front. Both of ours, one made at a Department of Agriculture Extension workshop, are far too deep, especially when surrounded by bales of straw insulation.
Well, enough of that. I don't know what to make of this spring except to make the best of it, to enjoy it for what it is, early and intense. The walkabout was lovely and I didn't worry a bit about how hot the summer will be. It's spring!
1 comment:
That first photo is just exquisite. The bud looks so full and yet fragile!
Too bad I'm not eating greens with you tonight!
Post a Comment