A Spring without Rain...

It has been a long time since we've had such a dry spring.  And, such a cold one too.  Everything is extremely late, but, now just into summer, we have our spring.  With all this talk of global warming, we were beginning to think that we should be getting ready for a deep freeze. 

The container gardens were released from indoor captivity to play again in the Garden, the seeds that had been planted have started to grow, and the first and second seedings of grass (I ran out of seed - too much winterkill) are starting to sprout.  

With the rain, the lawn that survived the winter is growing like a weed, and fortunately not like a dandelion weed (although, there are still some around that I haven't managed to get out yet).  

We have a new visitor to the garden this year - probably because the field behind us was newly plowed, after a few year of just growing a hay crop.  The new visitor, as yet unseen, really enjoyed my peas shoots, and the single blooming hollyhocks - so I have a new pot stuffed with pea seeds - it will be interesting to see how well this works;  at least it can't be any less successful than the recent garden episode!

The "S" Word

Depends how you look at it I guess ....

First of all I wanted to share these pics from yesterday. Little Grass Sprouts in bare ground - new lawn appearing!!  It has been quite dry, and as we have water restrictions that hasn't meant for quick sprouting - so I am pretty excited to see these little plants!   

And we usually get a few weeks of glorious, nearly iridescent Spring Green - it is starting to look like it may finally arrive.

     Now about the "S" Word - We need the moisture , it is only JUST cold enough for these pictures (below) to happen - and hopefully it will be warmer in a few hours... even by tomorrow..? - I did bring the plant pots inside - This is what we woke up to this, this morning - We even had to turn the heat on inside!
The good thing about "S" in the spring is that is quickly turns to liquid, and the ground, now not frozen, soaks it up - you can almost hear the lawn drinking! That pic on the right is the barest lawn patch we have - quite a Large Bare Patch - well-seeded about a week ago, so NOW lets see What Will Happen!

Two days ago it was over 75 degrees - this morning I put on my winter coat when I went outside with the dogs! Not to be toooooo superstitious, but maybe I shouldn't have washed it before putting it away for the summer. lol!

     These guys are just some of the 'crowd' waiting inside!! We are all living in hope.

Fortunately it is not cold enough to need a frost blanket, and as I finish posting this, the pics attached are starting to look like very old news - and that now the greening up will commence....

we...are...pretty...sure...about...that.

GARDENING; THE GOOD ENOUGH METHOD

We are having a late spring frost, so I am unable to do much planting for another week or two.  I made up for this by getting out in the garden to do a bit of tidy-up. 

My little vegetable growing area was looking pretty sad after the winter, and two summers of neglect!, and I spent about an hour raking out the leaves and fixing up the climbing supports.  I am pleased with the results. 

I will be planting vegetables and annuals among the perennials, as they come to life.  So, at this moment I need to be patient and allow things to pop up in the garden.  Here are the basic structures that I am planning on using.

The 'circle' supports are being used in a different setup from their original plan, but they are quite secure and I will see how well they work.  If they are not strong enough, or tall enough, I will have to have a rethink!

I am unable to attach the trellis style climbers to the wall, so I used the spiral stakes that I already owned to secure them in place. While they are not perfect, they are definitely ‘Good Enough’,  and they will look great once things get growing.