rite of spring II

It's come early this year, my need for green, and the reason is clear -- we've enjoyed the same blanket of snow for more than two months. Thanks to Scout, it's taken on a yellowish hue. And sadly the snow seems to be going nowhere soon. At best we can hope it gets refreshed from time to time.

Of last year's gardening attempts we got two poppies that produced leaves off and on between dying back, but no flowers. These were purchased as young plants -- nothing at all came of the thousand poppy seeds. Of the seeds, only Jacob's ladder produced a fair number of healthy plants; a few of the Irish moss seeds amounted to something along the order of the microscopic.

Current plans include waiting patiently until well into the spring and buying plants. Eventually, I'm hoping to see the Geum "Blazing Sunset" of May and June give way to the Echinacea purpurea "Raspberry Tart" of July to the first frosts -- a dramatic swath of color out in the front yard between the blueberries (which did very well) and the Chinese juniper.

I'll keep the poppies, "Beauty of Livermore," in there in case they manage to do something in their second year -- a scenario not wholly unlikely if they've made it this far.

In the back yard we're just planning to put in some ornamental grasses so there's something to look at next winter, and to move the hosta and Siberian irises around. For its part, the vegetable garden did very well. We've been enjoying the tomatoes and cucumbers as sauces and soup throughout the winter. It does make for a big, bare spot out in the snow, though. Some grasses along its back border should soften next year's winter landscape.

twig basket

Living room renovations are at last underway. What you see on the half wall under the stairs is Behr's Twig Basket, rounding out the first floor's strange array: Leapfrog, Camel, and Wooden Swing.

the sunshine and palm trees of florida

Some photos from Gatorland, in Orlando, Florida. Chester, the big guy in the center photo, was adopted by the park after eating too many neighborhood pets.