Palm Sunday Surprise

Well, this is a little more like it!!

The African violet at my bedroom window surprised me with a few delicate blossoms this morning. I had hoped to see some flowers here soon, as the plant's been growing nicely over the winter. I just didn't think they'd come so soon! Yay...

Behold, the miracle! Inside this wierd looking husk lies all you need for some of the most fantastic flowers possible. Just add dirt and water.

I got a five pack of assorted lilies at the Christmas Tree Shop recently for pretty cheap. Especially since this particular five-pack had six bulbs in it! The last one was a little small...so I'll keep my expectations low.

But I remain excited about the bonus and look forward to seeing what colors these will be. As far as I'm concerned, you can't beat lilies for adding some spots of random fabulousness in a border garden.


And it was fun to get out there and dig a few holes in the ground. It wasn't nearly as soppy as I thought it would be with the recent rain, so the drainage seems pretty good, save one patch of clay pretty far down the fence.

I'd already chosen things from the old place which had thrived in similar conditions to plant at that end...so perhaps all will be well.

I also found, during the Move, a packet of sweet pea seeds which Mom and Dad brought me from their trip to England.

They're a few years old, as they'd been misplaced during a previous Move, but I planted a bunch of them just the same, around the fence posts. I have a good feeling about them and it's the right time of year for planting.

If they germinate, I'll make some string trellaces for them to clamber on.

More bits of green are appearing here and there...like these chrysanthemums. I can't be sure, as things got a little mixed up during transition, but I think these are the imperial mums which joined the family last year.

A TECHNICAL NOTE: It's amazing how time flies. As of this entry, I'll have posted to this blog 1316 times since I started in April of 2005. I know this because I realized recently that there hadn't been the option for post tags back when I started and so most of my entries don't have them.

I spent some time today going back and adding tags to about two hundred of the earliest posts. Most of those are just pictures, but still, it will be great to have them all cross-referenced. For example, click on the tag "lilies" and see what you get!

Spring in January

Just one of the great things about living on Cape Cod is that, even tho we get to enjoy the cold and snow of the occasional winter storm, there's also always a good chance that our proximity to the ocean will bring us at least a few sunny and warm winter days that feel more like spring. I suppose this is why some of my friends over the bridge refer to the Cape as "the Florida of Massachusetts."

Today was one of those days, with temperatures quickly rising into the high 50s, or possibly beyond (I took a picture of our outdoor thermometor reading 70 degrees around mid-afternoon...but I'm a little dubious about the source, since it recently showed a reading of 110, leading me to wonder if the shed it hangs on was about to burst into flames!). It was a beautiful day, and the best weather we could've hoped for as a day for the transition between old and new furnaces.

While that massive under taking was ongoing, I was able to plant those tulips which had been overlooked in the frenzy that followed the Garden Move last fall. I've been keeping them in a cool dark place, and I think they'll be no worse the wear for the delay.

While getting those planted, I also discovered this iris root, lying on the grass near the garden bed. I'm not sure if this was overlooked by me as the light faded from the sky on that last planting day (in which case it's survived admirably!) or if it was dug up by some foraging critter. In either case, it's safely back in the ground.

I enjoyed the chance to get outside and do a little digging, though I was also glad it was only a little digging. It is still January, after all, and a gardener needs to find the down time where he can.