Tulips in the House

Tulips - one of my very favorite flowers, along with ranunculus, of course.

And, this is the time of year when both are available.

So, out of my comfort level this month.  You know that arranging flowers is not a skill of mine - altho it is one that I am hoping to develop.

I saw this in the April "Better Homes and Gardens" and loved it.

Directions were included.

My version looks like this!  White tulips, honeysuckle vine and 'Blue Moon' phlox.

 Wish the directions had mentioned some moss to hide the oasis.  it would have looked nicer.

The left over tulips do well in a tall container.

And, did I mention ranunculus?  Not only are they available, but they are available on my back deck and next to my chair!

Life is good. 

Thank you, Jane.  You have really challenged me this time.  Hope everyone will hop over to Small But Charming and see who else is home today.

Wednesday Workday

What a joy to be able to have a workday!  It's finally spring in Central Virginia and I am hoping to make the most of it.  Projects and final clean-up from last fall is definitely on the agenda, along with just enjoying the heck out of sunny skies and the first little plants poking up their leaves. 

At the top of my "to do" list was to try to "repair" a dogwood tree.  It's bark is not looking good.  I noticed in the fall that it was cracking.  A bit of Internet research tells me it may be canker, but am hoping to escape that.  [Think of all the dogwoods you have seen that have scruffy, mis-shaped trucks and seem to do ok ... am hoping i have one of those. ]

Somewhere, some time ago i read an article on helping trees thru bark difficulties by wrapping the trunk in sphagnum moss, so am trying that.  The idea is to give the bark some help to heal.  I already see one spot that is better after the winter - and with no help from me.

[I learned that it is difficult to hold wet moss, wrap the truck tape and take photos at the same time!  I needed a third hand.]

The second project i am working on, is really Mitchell's project.  He loves to plant a veggie garden and then eat the fresh produce, but is not so excited about the cultivating, watering, and harvesting part ... which falls to me most years.

 Many years ago he built two raised veggie beds in the sunniest part of the back yard.  After years of use, the boards are rotting and need to be replaced.  He has decided to replace the two 4 x 4 boxes with one 12 x 4 box [more space for me to grow veggies, i think].

So far, my part has been to empty as much of the old planting medium as possible out of the beds. 

It was still in very good shape, so i used it to top-dress my xeri-garden/herb and greens spot.  The "dirt" is a woman-made blend of three different kinds of humus, vermiculite, peat moss and manure, which i have refreshed in alternate years.  

 

This time we will put four inches of our own webb-made compost on the bottom and top it with the blend.

It sounds like he may get the box built this weekend, so I can start on the blend soon.  And, the truth is that I hope to grow lots more veggies when I retire, so it's good to have this part done ahead of time.
 
For now, lettuce and a few herbs are a good start for this early in the spring!

It Happened one Day ...

actually, it happened today. 

Did you see it?  I did.  

I stood out on my porch until 1:14 Eastern DST to be sure that the sun managed to cross my meridian.  I was not about to trust the generic time zone this year.  Not after the winter we have .... endured. 

Happy Spring!

Actually, it does look like spring right this minute. 

Daffodil 'Tete a' Tete' coming up everywhere.

A few hyacinths.  Somehow they never seem as tall and "fancy" outside, but I love them still.

 Even the day lilies are breaking ground. 

 And, it appears that the David Austin rose 'Sister Elizabeth' is going to make it.

 Inside, there is joy as well. 

We had a guest for dinner last night, so i stopped by the local flower market for some house flowers, and wonder of wonders ...

Ranunculus!  

Thanks to Bow Street Flowers i knew that the ranuncs from Israel are now available - at least in Boston - so i asked.  These are a bit over the hill, but they are all mine.  Life is good. 

Maybe we can make it past next week's potential snow storm and finally feel like spring.

Random Thoughts

on Daylight Saving Time:

I was going to wish you a Happy Spring Forward Day, and I guess i will.  You can never send too many good wishes out there. 

 June 2009

The beginning of DST is one of those markers we use for the garden.  Like Astrological Spring - the Equinox - and climatological spring.  The latter varies depending on where you live and garden.  In Central Virginia it's around March 1 - when one can begin to safely work the soil - but the farther north you live, the later it comes.  Then there's the date of the last normal frost - many consider that the first day of "real" spring.

But the truth is ... i don't much like DST.

Like many [apparently very many] people i get jet lagged for several days following the spring forward.  A bit of Googling will tell you that there will be a spike in traffic accidents tomorrow, more "cyber time wasting" at work tomorrow, more heart attacks this week, and in general a population that is dazed from being sleep deprived for the next week!

 June 2010

There are at least three petitions to ask Congress to do away with DST.  Arizona and Hawaii don't switch to it now.

On the other hand, there is a bill in Tennessee to go to DST and then stay there.

And, there is a bill in Idaho to stop going to DST.

 June 2011

Alaska - because of its northern geographical position - spans four astronomical time zones - but it is all on Alaska time (Pacific) already.

The most interesting proposal I found was one to change the entire US to two time zones - one hour apart.  Eastern and Central zones would go to Central, while Mountain and Pacific zones would go to Mountain.  That would solve all the business issues of east coast/west coast commerce, as well as jet lag for travel across this country. It would be a little tough on our Canadian and Mexican neighbors - at least until they got used to it. [There is a second proposal that would have to two zone system, but with them two hours apart in time - not just one. That one makes less sense to me.]

June 2012

There are lots of experts who say that we don't really get any energy savings from changing time, so the real question is the leisure one.  I'd actually rather have the light in the morning.  My biggest objection is that it starts after SNL - on the only night that i routinely stay up later - so I feel like i am getting a double whammy.  If I oversleep again tomorrow, i will miss my Jazzercise class!

Whew!  Too much thinking on a sleep-deprived morning.  

 

On blogging:

Five years and 499 posts ago, i started this blog.  Sometimes, i feel like i have something to say or something to share.  Often, i feel like it's drivel.  But i have met so many wonderful people out here in blogland.  I thank each and every one of you for coming back to see what's happening with me; for sending encouragement and advice; for being friends across the Web.  

Thank you for coming back to see this 500th post.

 June 2013

I wish you a warm spring and good growing conditions for the summer.

Good weather for me this week, so I see a Workday coming up.  See you then.