No, it’s not a robin, I’ve seen a few of those already.
I’ve been starting new flats of seeds every week since the end of February and they are all coming along nicely. The onion sprouts were the first and they are getting tall. The peppers came next. Those take a long time to even sprout and just this last week a few little pops of green gave me relief that something was actually happening. Last week was tomatoes and cabbage. Tomatoes take a bit of time but the cabbage has started coming up. Today was marigolds and parsley.
Was it last week I mentioned the cover to the mini greenhouse was no longer functional? One of the zippers was broken and the plastic has become brittle. It turns out you can order new covers without having to buy the whole set up. Thank goodness. I ordered a new cover Monday and, fingers crossed, it will be here in the next day or two. I now have four flats of sprouting pots that are getting difficult to manage and being able to use the greenhouse will solve all my problems.
The weather this weekend has been chilly. This morning we had rain and now it is sunny but so blustery the house is creaking. Of course the forecast for the coming week is gorgeous when I will have to be at work and indoors. Sigh. Tuesday night Bookman and I are signed up for a class at the bike shop to learn how to fix a flat tire. I can change a flat on a car but I have no idea how to fix a flat on my bike. Oh, and my new bike, she has a name now: Astrid. Bookman gives me odd looks when I talk about Astrid but I really don’t care!
I know real honest to goodness spring will be here soon because the Friends School Plant Sale catalog arrived in my mailbox Friday. I wasn’t expecting it until this week so it was a surprise. I was only going to look through the herbs in the first section of the catalog and save the rest for casual browsing throughout the weekend, but I was kidding myself. I couldn’t put it down and devoured the whole thing, gleefully marking off plants. I’ll take this and this and oh, doesn’t this sound nice? And yes, definitely one of those. And that, a must. And, hmm, where could I put one of these? Want to know what a happy Stef looks like? That was her reading and marking up the catalog.
All year long I keep lists of plants as I learn about them that I think I might like to try in the garden. So Saturday I got out all my lists and scraps of paper and sat down with the catalog again and marked things from my lists. There were quite a few items on my lists that are not in the catalog but that’s okay, there are also plenty of plants that were.
Then, of course, I had to think about the chickens and the chicken garden area where their coop is going to be. A friend of mine recommended a very good book called Free-range Chicken Gardens. It has lots of helpful advice in it. I had been wanting to plant elderberries and serviceberries in the garden but couldn’t figure out where I could plant these large-sized shrubs. Well, they make good hedges and places for chickens to take cover it turns out so now I have a place and a reason for them. Yay! Also, I have an excuse for a wild rose bush and more gooseberries, more prairie grasses and all sorts of other plants. All these I have dutifully marked in the plant catalog.
Now I just need to win the lottery jackpot so I can afford them all!
And poor Bookman. He says he knows nothing about gardening and asks I just point to where I want him to dig and tell him what to put there. He’s going to be doing a lot of digging.
Michael’s seedlings are all started to sprout nicely too!! He’s our gardener. The only thing I grow is Basil.
Looking forward to hearing how you make out with fixing a bike flat. I have NO IDEA how to do that!! I just bring Michael along. Or worse case make sure I have a fully charged cell phone to call for help!!! 📞
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Helen, I’ll be starting some basil this coming weekend 🙂 You don’t know how to fix a flat? Helen! Later in the summer I’ll be taking a basic maintenance class. I operate under my dad’s philosophy, you drive it, you need to know how to maintain it – car or bike makes no difference. 🙂
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I haven’t even TRIED to fix a flat. I Don’t even want to KNOW how to fix a flat. I just want a man to come to my rescue!! I know – so bad. Let me know how you make out. I have a friend who WANTS to fix a flat & she has taken classes & tried but she said she’s just not strong enough & can’t do it. Here’s another secret…. I’ve never put air in my tires……..don;’t know how!
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Helen you are just full of surprises! I will let you know how I get on with the flat class. I have heard it is hard to get the tire off the rim, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to manage!
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We went to a local nursery yesterday and I got so overwhelmed. I think we need to write a list of what we are looking for and then go to the nursery. Hopefully next weekend we’ll do that. You’ll have to share pics of how your garden is coming along!
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Iliana, oh yes, you need to know what you are looking for otherwise you are doomed. There is nothing but dead leaves out in the garden at the moment, still too early for anything to be sprouting. Another month though and it will be looking a bit different. I hope! 🙂
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I’m the same way too when I receive my seed catalogue- I can’t help myself in choosing and choosing, and when I go to the nursery I can fill a cart so fast! There is something so promising in the thoughts of planting a vegetable garden or creating a secret garden ~ 🙂
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Girl in the World, isn’t it fun? The sale is May 8th so I have until then to actually make a realistic list 🙂
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I love thinking about the new hedge(s) you will put
in—-and the chickens will love the shade and
shelter, too.
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booksandbuttons, I am very excited about the new hedge. Though the plants won’t be very big when I buy them. At least they will get a little time this year to grow before I bring in the chickens next year. And hopefully the hedge will grow fast. I will even share the fruit with them 🙂
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The bulbs are starting to come up. I already have two amaryllis buds that will burst open any day now. Mornings are crisp, afternoons warm, evenings cool. It’s really a beautiful time of year in these parts…just before the gnats come out. Looking forward to pictures of your garden. Just love your garden posts. They make me want to get out there while.
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Grad, my neighbor has a long south-facing wall and is on the corner so gets lots of warm sun and has the tips of tulip leaves poking up but I have nothing coming up in my garden yet. We still get frosts most nights but I have put my snow boots and winter coat away so that’s something! It is a nice time of year for us too, before the mosquitoes come out! Aren’t you going to do some raised beds? You should be able to plant peas and lettuce, radish and beets in your area 🙂
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What with rain and chilly weather, and my busy schedule, I haven’t had a chance to do much of anything in the backyard yet. But it’s so nice to see my perennials coming back up! I’m afraid I’m sort of like Bookman – I just dig and plant things and don’t really know what I’m doing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but then I’ve learned something, right? Can you just come down here to Tennessee and help me plan my garden? 😉
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Laila, I’ve not been able to actually do anything in the garden itself yet. Soon, possibly this coming weekend! You are right, even if you don’t know what you are doing you still learn things and Bookman knows more about gardening than he lets on. I would love to come help you with your garden! There is so much you can grow in TN that I could never grow in MN!
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We are back to cold windy weather again, it looks like it’ll be a long time before I can plant anything tender out. Astrid is one of my favourite names, nice and starry.
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pining, spring can be frustrating, warm and sunny and then cold and windy, so unpredictable! I like the name Astrid too. It is not very common in the US which makes it fun and a bit quirky.
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Bookman seems to have similar gardening skills as I do…but this year I am going to try and potter around plants a bit more for sure…again I can look to you for inspiration!! 🙂
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cirtnecce, heh, Bookman is better than he used to be, he can’t help it, but while he likes working in the garden and enjoys the the things we grow, actually knowing what they are and how to grow them holds no interest for him. How exciting you are going to try growing a few things! Any idea yet what you’ll be planting?
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Stefanie…I think to begin with I will keep things simple and try some basic potted plants preferably flower variety and try and keep them alive through the scorching heat of Indian summer…if they and I survive, I will move on to more exciting stuff!
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Simple is good and flowers are a great way to start. Be sure you get ones that like the summer heat and know that potted plants dry out really fast in summer. MOst of all, have fun! 🙂
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Thanks for the heads up…I know I will come back running to you for rescue tips as I get this going…
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during the week the weather was perfect for gardening – except I couldn’t because i was in work all day. come the weekend when I do have the time, what happens but we get heavy rain and high winds. So all I can do is look at the daffodils being buffeted
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BookerTalk, isn’t it so unfair that the really nice weather always happens during the week when we are at work and then the weekends are terrible? We always joke that since we get snow days in winter we should also be given good weather days in spring and summer. My employer hasn’t seen fit to agree with that scheme as of yet!
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