Seeds For Tomorrow

Mother Nature's being quite kind to us this week, a nice payback for those cold gray days of winter.

Yesterday before work, I boiled down some jalapenos to make a spicy spray to coat the remaining crocuses, daffodils and such, in hopes of warding off the Nibblers, whomever they may be. Before applying that, I watered the garden border for the first time this spring...since its suddenly been a little while since it rained last.

I also spread some allyssum seeds along the front edges of the the border and got those watered in. I will probably get a few seedlings at the nursery, anyway, 'cause I just don't think you can have enough of the stuff. But, I also used the allyssum seeds primarily around where the crocuses have come, as a way of marking their location for my reference later in the season...like when I want to plant other bulbs in the same area.

Here's the Little King lounging in the laundry room yesterday. I sort of set this up, by putting an old throw pillow in my now- chocolate-free Easter basket.

It didn't take him long at all to find the comfort in it. The laundry room has many windows, so its a favorite bird watching spot for Agent LaChat.

I've recently spotted (as I'm sure he has, as well)the first goldfinches of the season out in the apple tree, and hope to also hang out some orange halves, as the orioles should be arriving shortly. And this weekend I really MUST get that big bird bath set up.


Today was a day off, and also reason for cele bration as we had a handyman visit this morning to replace the defective valve which decides when and if we get hot water. Since it has recently been deciding against our having hot water, this is terribly good news.

As a bonus, I spent the day with Mom and Dad, touring around Route 28, visiting various stores and shops, having lunch and enjoying one another's company some more.

As a garden-warming present, they bought me a new watering can and some packets of seeds for the season ahead. I also priced soaker hoses at assorted locations and found one for $6.99 at the Christmas Tree Shop(of course!), and also picked up a few more packets of seeds.

I'm waiting on the appearance of assorted lilies before I'll lay out the soaker hose, so I can arrange it properly without accidentally digging up anything important. I'm sure it'll be the most efficient way to keep this full-sun garden well-watered this summer.

As for those seeds, I'll be working with Morning Glories (in assorted colors), Bachelor Buttons (in what appears to be a matching color assortment), some California Giant Zinnias (the same species I photographed last fall in another gardener's plot), purple Cleome, some Seashell Cosmos, and also some German chamomile.

Most of these can be direct sown into the garden, but not for a while yet(last frost the last few years has come right around Memorial Day for us). I think I'll start some cleome seedlings to give some of them a headstart...and the same with the morning glories. In advance of that, and a new planting of sunflower seeds I've got in mind, I sat down tonight and made two new trays full of paper pots, which I'll get planted in the next day or so.

I've also now transplanted all the sunflower seedlings from the first planting into larger pots and my south-facing bedroom window is becoming quite full.

Oh, check this out:

This fabulous blossom caught my eye yesterday morning in the bleeding heart bush.

It took only a split-second to realize this was no bleeding heart flower, though, but a clever ruse planted by my Loving Other Half as a surprise. His long history of practical jokes includes having wired fake flowers onto roses finished blooming to fool Provincetown tourists, back when he lived on Commercial Street, so I wasn't a bit surprised. But I did get a good laugh...and those are always welcome in the garden.

You can see there'll be no shortage of real bleeding heart blooms in a very short time, from all the bud clusters pinking up. For now, though, I've left this Fool's Flower of April to play with anyone else who happens by.