Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Signs of Life in the Garden

I feel guilty for writing about my gardening activities while the eastern portion of the country is still in the grip of winter. If you are one of those people who would rather I just go away, it's okay. I totally understand. It's really not very nice of me to flaunt my good fortune so go ahead and ignore this post, scroll down and leave your weather-related rant. I don't blame you.  

Honestly, I didn't doctor this photo! The new growth on this Hebe is bright pink! 

Who needs flowers? 

I love the brisk new growth on this Acanthus mollis. 
It's a good thing it's sending up new leaves because the old ones look horrid. 

And tiny new growth on this hardy fuchsia. 

My Grevillea has buds all over it! I'm so excited. 

A few weeks ago, my daughter was out walking the neighbor's dog. She casually glanced over into the forested area just off the road and saw two discarded, vintage chicken feeders. When she got home, she asked me if wanted them. Hells yeah! So we drove the car to where they were located and popped them into the trunk.  Today I got the second one planted and hung. 

This one is housing sedums, mostly 'Angelina'. 

The second one is in a bit more shade and is home to native strawberries or "ferry berries." 

And, my son found me a third vintage livestock trough for us to repurpose as a home for veggies.
This one cost a whopping eight bucks!

And on a quick trip to the thrift store, I found these sweet stepping stones. 

Finally, the other day while looking for bare root strawberries at the nursery,
look what jumped into my cart! Have any of you ever grow this and
if so, do you have any suggestions? My plan is to put it in a pot
with a trellis. 
Okay, enough for now. I hope you're doing well and anticipating the coming spring.

15 comments:

  1. Love the stepping stones! Gosh, I don't blame you! I would do the same thing if I had your good fortune. Plus, you encourage those of us in cold winter climates. Eventually winter will end, and in the meantime we can enjoy your beautiful photos!

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  2. Love the chicken feeders turned planters! I'm glad you're getting an early taste of spring.

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  3. Oh my! I don't know what I like most on this post! The live stock water trough is so cool. You got such a great deal. I do not mind seeing your pictures at all. In fact I love them. I need the color, even if it is at your house! lol. Every day brings us closer to spring. Very white out there tonight. About 3 inches of snow fell while I was at work. But what is 3 inches compared to what the east coast has gotten the last week or so.

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  4. I love seeing glimpses of spring from back home. It's refreshing with nothing but bare branches and snow outside to see that life does eventually return. I've wanted to grow gloriosas but never took the trouble to track down a source. Now they're available in those bulb packages? I'll have to keep an eye out for them and I'll enjoy seeing how yours does.

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  5. What a great find those chicken feeders were. Your daughter knows you well. There's lots of new growth in my garden too.

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  6. So were those chicken feeders found in time to include in your container count? Or does this mean your actual number is now 2 bigger?

    The post is up today, by the way:
    http://plantlust.com/blog/2015/02/plant-lust-contained/#more-3626

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  7. Beautiful! Thank you Grace for sharing such beautiful signs of life with us. The rain has finally stopped and I think it's time for me to wander around and take in what Mother Nature has been up to lately! Wishing you a beautiful and blessed day!

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  8. I love sneaking peeks at your garden. It reminds that life awaits under our snow. I can't help but smile when I see the buds of a new anything. Seriously!

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  9. I love your finds for the garden especially the stepping stones. Glad to hear people are finding spring in the garden....I won't give you my rant as you already know....just snow and cold here.

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  10. Hello Grace,
    Spring is still there in the north of France and the cold is still present, the return of the sweetness is scheduled this weekend, happy
    Good journey
    bye
    Christine

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  11. I am drawn to those stepping stones too. Can you imagine someone visiting your garden and looking down to suddenly see them? You were great to acknowledge our blogging sisters and brothers in the East. We are so warm here, I can't believe it!

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  12. You trained those kids right!
    I fell for that Gloriosa too, but it failed to even put in an appearance. Keep us posted, won't you?
    Happy Saint Valentine's Day!

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  13. I love those stepping stones Grace. I'm looking for something similar at the moment but no joy so far. If only you were nearer. Have you ever tried to remove acanthus mollis? If you have I would be interested in the secret of your success.

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  14. So glad you're seeing signs of spring. We are seeing tulips, daffodils, and alliums on their way up. I have grown that gloriosa before, but for the life of me, I can't remember if it flourished or not.

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  15. I'll try not to rant too much. You see, this is the time of year when I gather hope from more southern garden blogs, as they enjoy spring much earlier than I do. Right now, we are getting even more snow, so it seems so far away right now. But sometimes, my first bloom, the iris reticulata show up in late February, so there is hope for me yet!

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