finally, this weekend we saw some signs of life in our garden—our purple crocuses popped out some buds (MANY weeks later than previous years)
our daffodils were still shut, but bulging
and those of our neighbors beginning to color, though not popping yet
though later in the day sunday, they got serious about maybe opening up
and this morning—finally—we have full-on flowering.
whew; that was like pulling teeth, wasn’t it? you know, every year i think we are off schedule one way or the other, only to look back in the blog and find that no, we are right on, actually.
but this year, spring is definitely weeks late getting started and very slow in making a commitment. i found no hasta sprouts yet, nor lily of the valley. everything is still quite dormant—maybe it’s going to be a cool summer.
no matter, i’ll take whatever mother nature is offering at this point.
it’s all so tentative still. one day it’s warm and breezy and the next, brisk and full-on windy. the temperature swings from the 30s to the 60s, but with each swing, it creeps a little higher. thank goodness.
the days are certainly getting warmer, but the wind is often fierce, undercutting the effect. the ground is still pretty cold and all the trees are holding off yet on budding out or flowering. it’ll be interesting to see what april brings.
for sure, we are all ready for warm weather.
this bee must have been hungry; so intent on getting himself some nectar that he didn’t even seem to mind my camera lens getting right in his face—that’s a little weird. and here i was wanting to pick that plastic out of the flowers, but afraid to disturb his meal.
he was quite preoccupied sucking the life out of our grape hyacinth. you go, man.
pretty close by, our garlic also showed itself this past week—again, way behind last year, when it sprouted in like january, but looks like it all came up, so i’m happy with that.
i saw that some shallots are coming up too, near the back of the garden; i hope they make it this year, that would be great.
david worked out in the garden for quite a while, tousling the leaf mulch to see what else was greening up. he found strawberry plants, but no asparagus yet.
and dug up what remains of the carrots and potatoes from last year, before it gets too warm to keep them underground any longer. the potatoes are beautiful and the carrots are mostly, too, though some of them got a bit frozen near the top because i didn’t mulch them well enough. i know there are parsnips out there too; we’ll get those in the next day or two, as well as some additional fingerling potatoes that i believe are still in the ground near the back.
then we’ll have ourselves a nice big pan of roast vegetables, mmm.
looks like david spread a nice even layer of leaves over the top after his work. normally at this time of year we’d be plotting and planning what we’ll seed in—last year i had already put some chard seeds in the ground by now.
however, this year we are going to be tackling a pretty big renovation of our first floor living area—the dreaded kitchen renovation—during which we will lose access to our kitchen AND our basement. we’ll be making do in a tiny kitchenette cobbled together on our sun porch, but i can’t see how in the world we’d be washing, cooking, or freezing boatloads of vegetables in that setup—nor do i want to find out.
(you may have noticed that we never EVER include the kitchen floor in a photo; there’s a good reason. and much as i like the “tile” from a distance, it’s really just contact paper—i’d never even heard of using that as actual wall covering. yes, all this will soon be gone; it can’t happen fast enough for me, ugh! )
plus, life has gotten pretty crazy around here with our burgeoning yarn business (you must have noticed my erratic blogging, ha), so we’ve decided that this might be a good year to let the vegetable garden rest and rejuvenate under a rich blanket of mulch, to come back stronger and better in 2014.
(this is what passes for countertops and “storage” in our current kitchen situation; seriously impaired. two points for having original art in my workspace, minus five for the giant wall patch—one point for each year it’s been there.)
i know i’ll regret forgoing the vegetable garden—by august or september, the kitchen will be done (we’re not doing it ourselves, we’ve hired a contractor this time) and i’ll be weeping into my beer that i never got to eat fresh greens. but in the event that this is the case, i should be able to buy farm produce to put up that will be almost as good as our own and i’ll have the pleasure of putting our new kitchen through its paces.
i think it will be worth taking a break to get our work routines on even keel and regain a semblance of the home and knitting life we used to have—we need it! and at the end, we’ll have a kitchen of our dreams (which really, really are not overly ambitious).
and it won’t be a summer completely without gardening—this will be a great time to lavish some long-overdue attention on the planting beds to get them back in better shape. the hostas need to be divided and distributed into the newly-landscaped areas, we need to fill in some other spots with more plants, and we can finally establish and outdoor cooking area.
i’m excited, can you tell?
there’s more, but i’ll save that for next time—there is still knitting to talk about!
24 thoughts on “finally, something like spring”
Are you going to plant something like green beans or peas which could enrich your soil naturally with nitrogen while you do a fallow year? (also help keep the weeds down)
I think you’ve done a great job of prioritizing and a rest for you and your garden is well earned. Plus, that’s why they invented farmers markets! If it’s any comfort, here in Denver, our crocus bloomed in December and after 62 degrees today, we have blizzard conditions with the expectation of 8 to 12 inches of snow and a 20 degree high tomorrow! My chives and rhubarb are growing apace and I expect them (hope they) survive.
Some lettuce and other greens are so ornamental you should tuck some in between the flowers so you can still sneak in some greens-eating
Your daffodils are ahead of mine – they are starting to bulge, so should be any day now. Another vote for planting green manure in the bed to nourish it for the following year.
Oh, a hard choice to be sure! Maybe you could at least plant a little kitchen garden for herbs and arugula? And peas can be ornamental too – just a little trellis by the door. Still, I’d trade a garden for a new kitchen any day – what fun that will be!
I’m glad your garlic continues to do well. Mine is still quite snug underground and under a thick mulch of straw – no sign for at least a month yet. I did go looking for hostas yesterday but nuthin’. Just a few brave sedum and crocus so far.
I will miss seeing your garden this year. I’m a relatively new gardener and had to give up my garden last year in order to tend to my sick mother. This year I’m going to give it a real go again and I’m excited 🙂
I think a small what-you-can-eat garden might be a good idea. Maybe one tomatoe plant, a few lettuce plants, some peas along your fench, etc. A small garden is a nice get-away from the daily stresses of life. Or,a petite flower garden, fresh flowers in your house doesn’t require too much work inside the house.
I am truly going to miss your garden updates throughout the growing season. I take a LOT of inspiration from your garden and enthusiasm for all things “green”. 🙂
Pretty sure you won’t miss the stress of “oh my goodness, I have GOT to get those beans picked or they won’t be worth eating!” when your kitchen is torn up. Enjoy the opportunity to buy only what you have time and energy to put up, from the farmer’s markets! Maybe you can find a CSA that still has openings–I’ve always thought it would be fun to eat “from the box,” sort of like surprise meals! I think you’re a little warmer than we are here–I have nothing blooming yet! But I’m definitely going to plant peas and dig up last year’s carrots this weekend.
I’m doing a lot around here to spiff things up, too, Anne. But I haven’t got the nerve to tackle a kitchen renovation yet. Good for you and David. I think you’re wise to let the garden rest while you get your life back in control and can enjoy your time together.
Love the pictures of the garden bulbs. Michael is coming down tomorrow to help me out with sprucing up our floral garden. Yesterday he planted a jasmine plant right outside the sunroom. It smells heavenly.
How great is that? A new kitchen – a summer of rest and then all set for a fabulous garden next year. Sounds like wise planning to me and I can’t wait to see the new digs. Your home is really coming together. Will you have lots of shelves and counter space and big deep sinks all designed for your summer vegetables?
We are having the same strange spring here in southern Missouri. Bone numbing cold one day and up in the 70’s the next but the trees are finally starting to bud and bloom just as the big storm in the west is bringing us threats of hail and tornados. Yikes! Gotta love Spring – right?
I’m excited for you! Think of the late spring as making it easier for you to forgo planting vegetables this year. You’ll still have flowers to nurture while you watch a brand-new kitchen come into being. Yay!
Why not have a few greens in a pot? They will grow easily and should provide you with some nice, fresh salad mix all summer long.
Just think how much will you enjoy your new kitchen!
A new kitchen…how glorious! I love how you’ve prioritized stuff. I had contact paper in an apartment I lived in back in the day. It was on a wall and was a brick pattern. Also looked good from a distance.
That white server in the kitchen is a keeper though. A little new paint and it will be beautiful.
A new kitchen… YEAH! I took a “break” from gardening one summer a few years back and joined a CSA, which we LOVE! Now I veg garden just a little, and get to put more energy into flowers… it’s always a balance, isn’t it?
I think you have just done the mos6t important thing and you need to keep doing it. Tell people you won’t have a garden this year. Those who have too much will know where to share. And who will appreciate them a lot.
We have been through a couple of kitchen remodels, and I clearly remember washing dishes in the bathtub….I hope it all goes well! You should be done in time to plant a fall crop of lettuce and spinach!
No flowers here yet, although the trees are budding and apparently I am allergic. I envy you your kitchen remodel. I live in a brand new townhouse, and my kitchen is fine, but I would love to take the space and make it how I would like it!
Also – contact paper on the floor? That’s wacky!!
Really reassured by your post – Spring’s only just beginning here too (we even had more snow on Monday!) Hope the kitchen remodel goes well & you find a great market for veg.
Once you have that outdoors cooking area set up, you can start some of your usual prepping for the fall/winter. My family used to have separate “canning kitchens” separate from the house.
I hope your garden enjoys its rest time, and you discover an awesome Farmer’s market nearby.
And thank you for the reminder–my hosta should be divided this year too, and I know exactly where to put them. 🙂
Oh there is nothing like the anticipation of waiting for your new kitchen!! I do enjoy the memories David and I made trying to prepare a meal with “catch can”. Enjoy!!!!
We did our kitchen re-model last summer, I feel your pain. The end result is worth it. I can’t wait to see what yours will look like!
Ann – it will be worth all the upheaval to have a new kitchen….we did it a year ago and it has changed the way I live every day……I have some arthritis issues and to have drawers roll out instead of getting down on my knees to grope for something in a cupboard at floor level is just wonderfully liberating. We have a smallish kitchen but when you plan it yourself the way you want it to be then it is so good.
Think of the bumper crop you will have the following year as the soil will be regenerating all the time.
What great views and yarn porn. I know that you will love your new kitchen once the construction is over. We have been working on my fiber studio. Hopefully will be done soon as well:)
Comments are closed.