Doing the early March garden chores today, as we are supposed to finally have real winter weather in February. Did lots of limbing in the edge of woods to make things pretty, plus pulling down lots of entrapped dead limbs. Can't believe I worked up a sweat! Also blower on the drive because we seem to be in a pattern of 1/2 week raining, 1/2 week sunny, 1/2 week rain again. I'm praying that my little daffodils (hundreds of them in edges of woods) have had enough cold nights to flower well this year - last 2 years, not much bloom. So tired, I'm happy to sit and DL and chat awhile and plan indoor projects.

I do not garden (purple & black thumb) but I finally have something that has not died on me - an orchid of all things. I do enjoy looking at people's gardens though.

1 comment

by graceandham 28 Jan 2019

I have always said I can grow things outdoors, where God waters, but never indoors, where I overwater. The plants get molds and mildews and drown. An orchid is quite an achievement! I'm saving those for last, or never!

Finished what I'm going to do clearing limbs and snags and doing limb pruning yesterday, as my son came by and did the harder and taller chores. He is such a help! My woods look beautiful again. I remember living in Texas where you spent all your time trying to get one little plant to survive to adulthood. Nurture, nurture, nurture. In the Southeast, we spend most of our efforts trying to cull and edit, as there are so many wonderful AND undesirable plants competing for space. Gardening is very interesting. And yes, there was more pine straw to rake. It's unending.

Wow, Betsey, I'm jealous that you've been able to play in your garden. It's been so cold and snowy here that the only pruning being done is by all the deer, rabbits and whatever else finds my garden to be a perfect "all you can eat buffet"! I love Springtime gardens! At my old house we had hundreds of daffodils, tulips, Virginia Blue Bells, crocuses. I miss it so much. :-(

One day Betsey I am going to make it down to see you. no time soon though. kids didn't like my 2 hr drive to daughter in Athens. AL.. Guess I showed them I could do it though. Dr told me this week GOT TO USE CANE OR WALKER he came in loud and clear. Knee unstable since I had a small fx on head of fibula whwn I had my wreck. I told them my knee was hurting but no one bothered to check since I had all the surgery and Ca in it. The Oncolygist found it when doing theMRI on the knee chking for cancer on the 27th of Dec. .

Well done Betsey. It's so HOT here in Newcastle today at the moment 30C. My poor sister who lives in South Australia had 47C yesterday! (Thursday)
I love Daffodils and only have a few as I have more Erlicheer Jonquils which bloom earlier. Great job on all your gardening. Love Chris

2 comments

by graceandham 24 Jan 2019

I'm not conversant in Celsius, so I just sought out a conversion table and that 47C is a whopping 117F. Whooee! Is that with high or low humidity? When I was growing up it wasn't the 98F that got you, it was the 98% humidity - moisture hanging in the air that couldn't quite commit to being rain!

by pennifold 26 Jan 2019

Yes, the humidity is what's getting to me. I felt really off on Monday and Tuesday. I kept drinking loads of water and finally feel a bit better. It's still very hot, one of the hottest summers I've ever experienced. Most of southern Australia is like this at the moment, whereas up in Queensland they've got flooding rains! Oh! well as Dorothea McKellar wrote in her poem about Australia (she is the author of My County - one of our most famous poems) I quote -
"I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains
Of ragged mountain ranges
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror –
The wide brown land for me!" So I'll be fine. Off to Adelaide tomorrow for a week's celebrating Mum's 85th birthday and our best man's 70th! Gosh where did those years go by to so fast? Love Chris

You are very ambitious. I was tired just reading all you did. Weather is so crazy and I think the flowers and trees are confused.

1 comment

by graceandham 24 Jan 2019

And the gardeners are confused.

Sounds like you have been very busy today and you have a big garden. I have daffodils about to flower in the planter out side our house. Please share a picture of your daffys when they flower.

1 comment

by graceandham 24 Jan 2019

I have a nice medium-sized daylily garden, no veggies past two years. And I have huge amounts of wooded land, with the daffodils near the edges where they can get sun. It is the prettiest time of year when the daffodils, and later daylilies, bloom. Strangely, to me, I have come to love the fall of the year most on this piece of land. We get beautiful fall leaf color about 2 years in 5, all depends on the speed at which fall arrives and passes into winter.