Spring is Finally Here!!

Day after Blizzard of Dec. 2010

(Click on any photo to view a larger image.)

It's been a looong winter and I'm only too glad that the weather has finally warmed up enough for me to get back in my garden. The fresh memories of the blizzard that socked the northeast in December, followed by more snowstorms in January, are anxious to be melted away by images of compost and earthworms.

You remember the winter storms, don't you? Just take a look at the pictures. They tell the tale. The first was taken the day after the December storm while the snow was still pristine and the snowplows hadn't yet come through. (Heck, they didn't come through for two days!)

Fallen tree limb on my block.

The weight of all the snow seriously weakened a tree on my block to the point that it eventually cracked and came down in the weeks after the storm, damaging a parked car on the opposite side of the street. Thankfully no one was injured.

Yeah, the snow was a real pain in the neck, as well as in the back, but the advantage to all that snow is what is does for the garden. The deep cold stimulates the plant growth process. It's the same thing that professional growers do to "force" flowers to bloom when they want them to. And all that melting snow deeply saturates the ground, giving reawakening plants plenty of fuel for growth. The result? An abundant garden bursting with life.

Crocuses blooming in full force.

Here are just a couple of photos of this year's garden. My perennials are popping up like gangbusters. Everywhere I turn I see the tips of my hostas poking through, my hydrangea's tips are swelling up and leafing out. My ground cover is beginning to spread and the earthworms, well, they are fast, sassy and plentiful. My compost bin kept them warm, cozy and well fed during the winter and now they are ready to go to work fortifying my soil.

Daffodils are not to be outdone.

In spite of this year's record breaking winter, my plants were in pretty good shape. I had brought many of my potted plants and window boxes inside my glass shed where they were somewhat sheltered from the extreme weather. They showed their appreciation by rewarding me with unusually early blooms. In the case of the vinca vine that is going on its third year, it bloomed for the first time, showing off pretty five petaled blooms. My strawberries actually had blossoms most of the winter and now they are blooming like crazy, exhibiting more buds than I have ever seen on them at one time.

Vinca blooms for the first time in 2 yrs.

As I mentioned in the fall, this year I'm planning to plant more herbs and vegetables than I have in the past. I enjoyed the few herbs that I grew last year so much that I want to do more of it. I have already cleaned out the detritus of last year from my pots, replenished their soil and planted several varieties of peppers, cilantro and basil. Looking to plant some oregano, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, green beans, onions, garlic...in short, I'm hoping I won't have to see a supermarket produce section for a long time.

Did you hear that? That was the sound of my back groaning at the thought of all that yard work. But did you see that? That was me smiling at the thought of it.

Ballo ergo sum
- Gitana, the Creative Diva