it's been a pretty mild winter

so far.....this morning, It's about 28 degrees and frosty. Hopefully, all the little confused plants aren't shivering their roots off.

Pretty quiet here this week. The weather was a bit rainy, so not much going on outside at the first of the week, and miss doggie had some surgery on Thursday, so not much going on at the end of the week except doggie babysitting. I did work on some glass, and managed to finish one bowling ball and completely design and finish a second. I'll probably be grouting today and also doing a couple of stepping stones I have ready to go. (I need the molds for something else)

The only two new plants this week were a couple of daylilies and peonies from Costco. (gotta take advantage of that while I can) They have some great deals on stuff. It's pretty mainstream, but you can't beat a peony for less than $5. They'll look great in a couple of years. Last year, the daylilies that I got there bloomed in their first season, so.......

I also placed a couple of iris orders for later in the summer. I've decided that the iris "theme" will be blues/purples, blacks and whites, not a big fan of the pastels. You can't believe how many black irises there actually are, which makes my little black plant loving heart go pitter pat.

We also got the potato bin filled and planted, and I have onions and peas to plant now too. The daffs and hellebores are going crazy, and the peonies are growing by leaps and bounds, thanks to the nice weather. Lets hope we don't have a winter throwback now!

The weather is grand

The weather here has been unseasonably warm. Yesterday it was nearly 60 degrees and sunny...
Why haven't I posted lately? I've been outside gardening, of course!! (and going to the flower show)

Speaking of the flower show, I made quite a haul......lots of oriental lilies, 3 new oriental poppies, and a black iris. All planted in their new homes, thanks to the good weather.

I've also added some peonies and a couple of daylilies (thanks Costco!), a double decker Echinacea (also Costco), a dwarf frost peach tree, a gogi berry, some currants, and possibly some gooseberries today.

The weather is supposed to hold out for at least another week, and I'll be home with a doggie that has stitches, so I'm sure I'll get some more done.....either in the yard, or with my glass.

You just gotta love this time of year, the plants are going crazy.....

We also got a couple of loads of dirt to fill the potato bin and the squash boxes.

We'll be wrapping that up today.

Now I just need to make my garden wish list for projects to do this summer and keep up with the planting.....not much. At least we don't have any more big projects like building fencing and the like. They're all small, like building trellises, fixing the grape arbor and refining the planting plan. This is the fun part.

another yard sale score!!

Or two....the biggest one is this nice concrete bench I scored yesterday for $10. Fits perfectly in the arbor and it's just what it needed.

I also scored two old flower frogs that are kind of different. One is a pottery style and looks like a little basket and the other is clear cut crystal and is a bowl style on the bottom with the frog on the top. Both are pretty unusual, since you rarely see all the pieces all together.

I got my flower show tickets this week too, which only inspired my spring fever to really take hold. I'm making my wish list right now. The last couple of years have been hard for flower show purchases because I wasn't quite sure where it would to. I know now!

It's supposed to be nearly 60 degrees here for the next two days, so, right after I'm done with this post, I'll be outside digging.

p.s. seen in Costco this week, bare root trees and some nice 2 gallon hellebores (one of which followed me home)

It's pretty much incurable at this point

My spring fever, that is......
Last week, there were a couple of beautiful days, sunny, not cold, dry.....that didn't help the fever any.
I was able to get out front and clean up pretty well.

I chopped down the grasses, pulled weeds, raked up leaves, and put the greenhouse back together.
It's amazing to see all the little shoots out there, and the daffodils, tulips and crocus are working it.

In the back, the hellebores are going wild.

Gotta love those hellebores.
Speaking of which, I got a couple of new ones this week.......one called "white pearl", a nice double, and another called "jade star". Who wouldn't love a flower that's black on the outside and green on the inside? It needs some TLC, but hellebores are tough, and you can't kill them even if you try.

Next week.....the fever continues! Costco said they would start getting some spring stuff after their inventory this weekend, and I've already seen some bare root in other stores. YAHOO!!
Rooting for the daffs!

I know spring is out there somewhere....

we've been pretty lucky here. Our winter hasn't been too cold, although it has been wet. The daffodils, hyacinths and crocus are all starting to peek out, so there's some hope out there yet.
The witch hazel is blooming too.....

note to self.....get more witch hazels.

This week, the clearance rack coughed up a nice heuchera, fire chief....BRIGHT red leaves.

And the good news! WINNER WINNER GARDENSHOW DINNER!
I won tickets this year! More money to spend on plants!!

All of this rain has been good for something, though.....I've been working on some glass..

Dragonfly on a bowling ball.....I've got the bowling ball itch now, so there WILL be more. Just need to find the bowling balls.

I also have 3 stepping stones ready to pour, just waiting for it to get a bit warmer......

This week, finishing the dragonfly, cruising the rack, drooling on seed catalogs.......good times~

I really have to get more hellebores

You just have to love something that's blooming on Christmas!

Not helping with  my spring fever, though.

I've been surfing the plant websites already, making my list and checking it twice. The last couple of years have been about filling up the space. This year is the year of cool. I'm looking for fragrant and reblooming varieties of things, and the cool and unusual. We'll see how that goes. I totally miss cruising the local clearance racks, though, and most of the nurseries around here are closed between Christmas and new years. BAH!

Watching the hummingbirds.....

and the other visitors

and counting the days to the flower show.....hope I win tickets this year! Leaves more money for plants.

is is bad to have spring fever on christmas??

'cause I have a major case of it already.....it's going to be a LONG winter.

This week there was a clearance rack score.....a HUGE itoh peony, regularly $68 for half price. Had to have it, and it's already nestled in it's new home. I'll be headed back to that clearance sale because I saw a BUNCH of things I wanted.....maybe that's what gave me the fever.

The seed catalogs are starting to pile up too......not helping at all.

So, the project after Christmas is to build the small raised bed boxes for next spring and a nice one for potatoes. As much as we've tried (and had success before), the potatoes in the garbage can thing just isn't working.

Y'all have a great Christmas.....I'll be here drooling over seed catalogs and wishing for the flower show!