2012 - And the Seeds are Out!

The six white and orange tulips are so beautiful!  They were well worth the $18 for the lot even if they don't make it much longer.  I can't remember having tulips growing up and watching them grow and bloom has been really neat.  My preconception of tulips is the closed cup and the droopy stem.  These guys are wide open and can see the true beauty inside the cup.  Amazing stuff.

Meanwhile, Monday was seed planting time for me.  I wanted to plant on Friday as the moon was new, but so much for that.  Moon experts say to sow seeds at certain phases.  Above ground seeds are to be planted with the new moon to help drawl them up out of their shells and the root vegetables seeds are sown during the new moon to help pull them down farther into the ground, making healthy roots.  All very interesting stuff.  I missed the phase I needed to plant the seeds for the above ground items and didn't think I would be able to plant the root vegetables on the full moon, so I just planted everything I planned out in the raised garden.  I squared off the garden into sixteen 11.25" sections and got to work.  I have some old seeds and new and hope they all come up.  We will see.  I've got back up seeds just in case.

After planting, I worked some more on the path around the garden.  Eventually, it will have a mulch path that is surrounded with grey stones that will hold in the mulch and keep me out of the mud. While money is the ongoing issue, the path will be put on hold until we have a little more funds to complete that.  Oh, and that green little planter in the top left is full of sunchokes that I missed when digging up the garden!  Unbelievable!  I am going to have sunchokes choking my new garden.  Bummer.  Those suckers are so hard to get out of the ground.  I will have to dig them up every year I guess.  So much for that.

Last week, Evan and I got a new toy for the garden/yard from Evan's sister as a belated Christmas present.  It is quite beautiful and very fun to sit in during the evening.  However, the morning and afternoon sun's position is high and hot.  Once the sun passes over the house, it is wonderful to feel the breezes and watch the evening pass and the stars come out.  The P's absolutely love sitting under it when the sun is out.  It is a cool lookout for them as they guard the backyard.

The butterfly garden is coming along very well.  It is so hard to believe it is still March.  Our average last frost date is April 15th here and worry that this early growing season will be halted with a blast of cold air and ruin everything for us.  We will see.  I am taking what I have and going with it.  No regrets.  I have extra seeds if that happens.  Disappointing as it maybe if it happens, I will take this early growth time with heart and enjoy it.  I still have lots to do before I am done with this garden to let it go for the summer.  I am glad to get this early start.