Lovely spring bouquet created from flowers picked by Anne from around the garden on Thursday.
Good grief, the doldrums of winter seems to have finally abated, of course I speak of the endless winter, of which seemingly was going on and on. Huge globules of spring snow were falling on April 2, quite beautiful, but out of place. Yes I know this can be considered de rigueur for the region, but it’s spring after all and the plants and flowers are now blooming. Alas I can shed some of my winter cycling kit, so looking forward to going riding without all of those wintry layers. Used to be rather fond of winter’s slumber, the notion that the earth could have a break of sorts, to rest, to sleep and then to awake in spring with renewed bounty, kind of a celebration of life, if you will.
This last week or so, I have been working on creating promotional graphics for the new Pairings Club. During one of our meetings, Anne mentioned the use of fancy script in promotional materials, those two words unleashed thoughts of a French bistro menu, beckoning a conceptional idea for the Pairings club. We have all seen those sorts of menus, often cramped with words making it difficult to read, but then you have the use of different fonts, which makes deciphering the menu a little easier. In this club we will explore a multi-sensory experience, pairing Bare Naked Wools yarn with a hand dyed yarn, seasonal recipes and beverages, now the concept of a menu should resonate. Anne will team up with Chef Katharine Wainwright to present four courses of fantastic knitting projects, recipes and wine pairings. No doubt it will be a decidedly different kind of knitting club. Initial signups will be open to current Immersion club members on April 17 and to the general public on May 1.
Compost pile
Compost to serve as mulch for garden beds around house, note Chinese fringe tree is slowly dying.
I was able to begin to sorting out the compost pile, working in freezing temperatures no less a few weeks ago. Moving some the compost to various beds around the house, Bil helped out, fortunately it had warmed a bit by then. It’s amazing how another set of hands can increase productivity. Now onwards to the most awesome task of combining the remaining compost with the existing garden mounds created to simulate a rise garden bed, will undo all these mounds. Now that everything has been combined, I have begun expansion of the vegetable garden. This includes removing weeds, leveling, making a walking pathway. Have placed a layer of cardboard, atop this a very thin layer of soil to assure that cardboard remains in place. Will also add a layer of landscape fabric to further inhibit weed growth, you can see that I rather dislike weeding. Next I can finally begin the forming of the new mounds, tomatoes will be planted here.
New vegetable garden bed location filled with weeds
Weeds removed, ground leveled.
Cardboard layer.
12 thoughts on “Rejoice, Spring is Here, Finally”
Those spring blooms are just delightful, I think spring has to be my favourite season. I love spotting new things in the garden, almost on a daily basis. I reckon you might have to get another freezer to cope with all the produce your expanded vegetable plot is going to yield! Here’s to a productive season! Have a good weekend.
That will be a fantastic tomato bed! I need to get out in my garden and turn it again and weed, but here in Nebraska we’ve had a week of rain, so it’s mostly mud right now. Hoping for a few days of sun and warmth to help dry it out a bit before I dig in.
You have no idea how much I envy that compost pile. I garden in heavy clay with a side of shale. Every year I amend it as best I can with the relatively tiny amount of compost we have and bags of whatever from the local garden center. Somehow things manage to grow – all part of the mystery and allure of gardening! It keeps us slogging away year after year. On another note, I think the bistro menu idea for the club is absolutely brilliant.
Last weekend, Colorado was covered (in most spots) with two feet of snow. In my front yard, two tulips bravely pushed their way through the snow–what an inspiration! We are all ready for spring…sans snow!
Springtime in Ohio was always such a relief to me when we lived there. The winters always seemed long and the new life from what appeared to be lifelessness filled me with joy. Far cry from the southern winters I deal with now! The pairing graphic is very clever!
You have your yard work cut out for you (and I love the graphic for the new Pairings Club….it lured me into yet another sign up!)
I wish I had flowers in my yard like that! Maybe next year… Pairings Club is going to be AMAZING! I just know it already!
Gorgeous bouquet, David, and no wonder, looking at all the work you go through making your garden grow so beautifully.
Love the gardening posts! ‘This the season, for sure!
I (the one with the brown thumb) am filled with admiration and respect!
Tell me more about the cardboard layer. Is that mulch between plantings? Do you dig through it to plant? We used to use newspaper between rows when I was growing up, and then cover it with grass clippings. The community garden where I have a plot has carpet strips between rows. I’ve never seen cardboard!
Love seeing your posts, David. I thought the “chalkboard” flyer was a perfect way to introduce the new club. Every time I see your garden, it makes me want to go dig in the dirt and start my own.
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