Dreaming of Spring

Lil and I did this Sunday.

When you begin seeing this,

and, this.

Not to mention this,

as well as this...

...well, it's hard to deny spring is fast approaching!

So, Lil and I got out our little greenhouses (Burpee this year although we've also used Ferry-Morse and Jiffy in the past) and got to work starting some seeds.

I liked how these peat pellets weren't encased in netting that would later need to be removed.  A word of caution, however: please be sure your pods are positioned vertically in the container and NOT horizontally (as you will note the majority of ours are).  You see, the pods then run out of room in which to expand and you will find yourself digging at them trying to fluff them up and it's all rather tedious when you could have just put them in vertically and saved yourself heap big bunches of heartache. 

Instead of pouring the water over the tops of the pods as we've done in the past, I had Lil put the water in the pan underneath.  I think it worked pretty well, and now our little greenhouses are all set up in the guest room. 

Why the guest room, you might ask? Well, it gets loads of lovely buttery warm afternoon sun, and it protects the trays from those who might otherwise destroy them--not that a smallish Bean or two little black kittehs might do such a thing...

We planted these, these, and some sungold seeds from two years ago.  I don't know if the sungolds will germinate, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

We also planted two varieties of peppers, and some Chinese lanterns and these nasturtiums.

We're going to plant six varieties of zinnias next Sunday, wait a couple of weeks, and then plant another round of the zinnias.  The thought is zinnias are an annual and in order to have them around a little longer and blooming a little longer, I'll have two rounds of them.  If I can get my act together, I'm planning to get another starter kit from Lowe's and do a third and fourth round of plantings.  We'll see. 

In case you're wondering, I went with the pinks and reds zinnias, not the oranges and yellows. 

I also have a bunch of cosmos, a wonderful plant called "Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate", and a host of Mexican Sunflowers (which the hummers and butterflies adored last year).  Oh, and some fairyland dwarf mix candytuft and a Marsh Mallow (yes, that's where the treat gets its name!).  These seeds will be directly sown when it's a bit warmer. 


In addition to the flowers, I have lettuces, bush beans, cukes, onions and sugar snaps, all of which are to be directly sown in the ground as well.  Oh, and the herbs.  We mustn't forget the herbs!  

Which leads me to my plans for the gardens.  :o) The beds I already have in place are no longer ideally situated for growing veggies.  I read a little saying that helps me to remember if my foods need sun or shade: If you eat it for the roots or the fruits it needs full sun. If you grow it for the leaves, partial shade is all you need.

Well, the beds are now in full or partial shade and aren't serving me well for my veggies!  The plan is to turn the former tomato bed into an herb bed (basils, cilantro, parsley, thyme), and use the other for lettuces and then more basil once the spring lettuce harvest is through.  Have I mentioned my girls' affinity for basil?  Yes, I really do need a full bed of basil.

Then, I'm having B build me some beds along the far fence for my veggies.  It gets full sun and will be perfect for tomatoes and peppers and cukes!  I'm hoping we'll be able to trellis the toetoes and cukes this year.  I've pinned a number of useful resources for making raised beds and trellising veggies and whatnot. 

In fact, there's an incredibly useful pin that directs you to a site where you plug in your zip code and it tells you when to begin planting your veggies!  That was an invaluable resource, let me tell you.  Two years ago I pored over the Virginia Cooperative Extension's website looking for planting times and counting back from our last frost date and it was time consuming.  Where was this site when I needed it??

As for the flowers, well, I'm extending my perennial bed on around the corner where it gets full sun and will be putting in daylilies and a bunch of annuals to start.  The vinca will spread like wildfire, as will the columbines.  AND, Amy sent me seeds I'll sprinkle and see what happens. :o) Oh, and she mentioned something about peonies, bless her wonderful soul! (Ultimately, I simply hate mowing in the corners and love flowers, so it's a win/win for me.)

At the end of the new raised beds (across from the extended flower garden), I'm hoping to put in a longish flowerbed filled with sunflowers, the Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate and cosmos and such.  I'm putting zinnias in the planter around the waterlily and would like to find a couple of antique washtubs to put some in as planters on the deck/patio.  I have morning glories (yes, I'm still enchanted with them!) I'd like to trellis along the far fence as well. 

The beds in front of the workshop will still be filled with daylilies, and I planted a number of them along one side of the pond planter.  Again, I can't tell you how incredibly easy and forgiving daylilies are.  They will grow anywhere and all you have to do is make sure they're watered and deadheaded.  Seriously.  I LOVE these guys and can't say enough good things about the quality of the plants they ship.  If you want flowers but think you have a black thumb, give these guys a try.  You put 'em in the ground and leave them alone and you'll have flowers in no time.  :o)  Best of all, they are not only free every year thereafter, they spread!

Lil's bed will house daylilies and sunflowers, and whatever else she feels like.  I need to get a bed for Beanie.  Hm...I'll talk with B about it.  And, I'd like to try to create a little fairy garden with the girls this year as well.  We'll see.  I'll have my Million Bells hanging baskets (I can't imagine not having them at this point) and maybe some other variety of heat tolerant/sun tolerant flowering plant. 

I have a mailbox post ready to be painted and put in the ground to use as a trellis (I'd dearly love to get a clematis going), hanging basket holder and birdhouse/bird feeder perch, and I have a couple of pins for creating birdbaths from terracotta pots.  I foresee a number of fun spring projects with the girlies. :o) 

So, yes, I've made plans this year.  Oh how I've made plans!  I'm becoming anxious for spring to well and truly arrive. :o)

****************************
Sparklies:

1.  Well, maybe not a sparkly per se:

I got to the top of the stairs and received disdainful looks from both the boys.  Gotta love a cat. ;o)

2.  I purchased these 1/2 off from the 'jay last Friday:

Aren't they lovely?

3. 

I so love my new pinwheel die!

4.  Did I mention we had big honkin' snowflakes Saturday?

The therapist/facilitator couldn't figure out why a room full of adults was buzzing like a room full of schoolchildren. ;o) I explained it was snow and we rarely get any here. :o) Nothing stuck, but boy were they beautiful to watch.

5.  My girlie well and truly has it:

I watched her at work and she's just like I was.  Once I discovered Roy G Biv, everything made so much more sense and simply had to be in that order.  I would have put the brown and black and then white on the end, but to each his/her own. ;o)

6.  Yesterday afternoon:

Yes, we had a sluggy pajama day yesterday and it was wonderful.

7.  Sarah had her baby today!! :o)

8.  Lunch with Brien.


No milestones.