Planting and Pruning

Spring Planting Begins...

Spring vegetable planting has begun in the bed my husband created last year for a mother's day present....and the leeks I planted last year in the holes of the cement blocks overwintered nicely.  After several years of planting vegetables willy nilly, I am reverting to the traditional straight row crops.  Not really sure why, but it does make it easier keeping track of things.  Root crops are going to be the mainstay of the garden this year, I think. The garlic I planted last fall is coming up nicely, and I planted some onions that were starting to grow in the cabinet.  Opposite the leeks I've put in shallots - which I love to cook in the winter in my triple onion tart - and they are so expensive.  Will plant carrot seeds soon.



Cut Stems of Azaleas blooming in window box

Was very surprised to look out the kitchen window the other day and see that the azaleas that I had put in my "winter" display were blooming! They've been there for over four months and have had almost no water due to the dismal amount of rain we've had. Overall, all the greens in the window box look amazingly fresh for having been sitting there all winter...I think being in the shade makes a big difference.

Mounded Hydrandea Plants

I've noticed several hydrangea shrubs around that were cut back by landscaping crews this fall into mound shapes.  Of course, I was muttering under my breath about how they had cut off all the flower blooms and would be sorry come this summer.  However, lo and behold, I've been reading Michael Dirr's Hydrangea book (great read-terrific information) and was quite surprised to learn that this technique might not be all that bad. As it turns out, there are flower buds along the entire stem which remain dormant unless the tip is removed.  The bottom line, according to the book: "as long as the flower buds are not totally eliminated by cold, flowers will be expressed even when the plants are severely pruned". (p.178)  I am looking forward to following these various specimans to see if this holds true...we certainly didn't have a cold enough winter to kill all the flower buds.