The old saying says March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. This year it came in like a polar bear and it has stayed that way. All week it was cold and snowy. We haven’t seen the ground yet in March. Today it is sunny, but the sun just can’t seem to warm things up much.
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| Sad snowdrops in the snow. |
The time is drawing near for me to place my seed and plant orders. This is an exciting event in my gardening year. For months I’ve been dreaming, pondering, and planning what I will plant this year. I’ve read and re-read the many catalogs that come to me in the mail. I’ve made lists and price comparisons, revised them, and re-revised them. It’s a procedure I go through every year. When I’m not growing a garden, I’m thinking about growing a garden. I can’t help it.
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| How my garden looks today. |
My vegetable garden will be smaller this year. I’m focusing on the things we really like to grow and eat – tomatoes, onions, peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, garlic, and squash. But I’m also going to try some new things. This year I’m going to grow runner beans. I’ve never grown them before, but they’ve long intrigued me. The flowers are beautiful and the beans are delicious – so the catalogs say. We’ll see. I’m also going to grow giant pumpkins for the first time. I usually only grow one kind of pumpkin, Winter Luxury, because it makes the best pies and desserts. I will still grow those, but I also thought it would be fun for my grandchildren to grow some giant pumpkins. I’ve been reading up on how to do it. It will be a gardening adventure for us.
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| Runner beans. |
I have big projects planned – a few more raised beds, wire arches for my cucumbers to vine on, rebuilding the picket fence, and building the greenhouse I got for my birthday. So much to look forward to.
This is not a year for ordering new chicks. I only order them every other year. I miss getting chicks in the off years. It’s always exciting to get new chicks. If one of my hens decides to go broody, I’ll let them hatch some eggs, but that’s it for new chickens this year.
My flower garden will be my big garden adventure this year. I grow mostly the same things year after year and those are the perennials and re-seeders that come up on their own – poppies, larkspur, hollyhocks, cornflowers, peonies, and phlox. I do choose a few new things to try in the flower garden every year, mostly annuals. Some years I unintentionally arrive at a color theme for my flowers. I don’t realize until later in the summer that all the flowers I chose happened to be pink, or orange, or red. Last year it was orange. The marigolds, dahlias, nasturtiums, and calendulas, all of them orange, dominated the garden. One year I intentionally planted a mostly blue flower garden for Miriam. She loves blue flowers. Some of those blue flowers are good re-seeders and still come back every year. This year the color theme is intentional and odd – flowers with green in them. As I perused the catalogs, several varieties of zinnia and coneflower caught my eye with flowers that combine red and orange with lime green. I will be growing them. I’m also going to plant some new roses. I love roses, but most types don’t do well here. I’ve done some research and found some that should work.
This is not a year for ordering new chicks. I only order them every other year. I miss getting chicks in the off years. It’s always exciting to get new chicks. If one of my hens decides to go broody, I’ll let them hatch some eggs, but that’s it for new chickens this year.
My flower garden will be my big garden adventure this year. I grow mostly the same things year after year and those are the perennials and re-seeders that come up on their own – poppies, larkspur, hollyhocks, cornflowers, peonies, and phlox. I do choose a few new things to try in the flower garden every year, mostly annuals. Some years I unintentionally arrive at a color theme for my flowers. I don’t realize until later in the summer that all the flowers I chose happened to be pink, or orange, or red. Last year it was orange. The marigolds, dahlias, nasturtiums, and calendulas, all of them orange, dominated the garden. One year I intentionally planted a mostly blue flower garden for Miriam. She loves blue flowers. Some of those blue flowers are good re-seeders and still come back every year. This year the color theme is intentional and odd – flowers with green in them. As I perused the catalogs, several varieties of zinnia and coneflower caught my eye with flowers that combine red and orange with lime green. I will be growing them. I’m also going to plant some new roses. I love roses, but most types don’t do well here. I’ve done some research and found some that should work.
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| The odd colored flowers I will grow this year. |
We’ve switched to Daylight Savings Time now. I don’t like changing the clocks. I’ll be grouchy for a few days now because my body knows that, despite what the clock says, I’m getting out of bed an hour earlier than usual. And it will be dark in the mornings again. I do like the longer hours of evening light that allows me to work outdoors later. That’s when I can actually work outdoors. Right now there’s nothing to do outdoors and that’s not going to change for a while. This week looks like it will be the same as last week – cold with more snow midweek. I’m growing ever more impatient to see the snow go away. I’ll try to channel my frustration this week by preparing to start seeds. I’ll clean all my seed starting trays and set up the grow lights. That might help a little. Or maybe not.
