Hey, it's still only February! We're going to get 6 - 10 new inches of snow today, after missing most of the latest big storms. And... they did not cancel school this morning (to the chagrin of my daughter), though some schools are closing early. Snow up to six inches normally does not affect travel much - much worse to get a smidgeon of sleet or freezing rain (sometimes below freezing temperatures are a blessing).
I realize, however, that this winter has been tough for the South and Southeast, which are not accustomed to or prepared for the snow and cold we often get from November through April.
I'm with Sammy the Squirrel too. This is the point of the year where I have had enough. Mind you it is also the point of the year where it becomes maddeningly obvious that spring is nearly here - there are various things waking up on the fruit & veg patch, like the comfrey, the sea kale, the rhubarb and the hawthorn bush - but that's why I start champing at the bit for an end to the rain and the dark and the snow. The clocks go forward in about a month, I cannot wait.
Cathy, Grandpère is now planting two burning bush shrubs, which our friend from Connecticut sent us. He had them in buckets, and they're full of leaves. I hope that the bushes do well here in the South.
I had never heard of burning bush shrubs so I just looked them up. They are absolutely beautiful - lucky you. I hope they do well too. What does Grandpere have lined up for the veg patch this year? I already have my potatoes ready to go in but the soil is really waterlogged at the moment.
Oh my, the "Gardener's" catalog arrived today and I had fun looking through it. We really can't plant outside until the end of May, but people are already buying seeds at the local hardware store.
Mimi, I do hope the burning bush does well there too. They are so lovely in the fall.
Amelia, I saw the burning bush plants when I was in Connecticut in October and admired them, which is why my friends sent the bushes to me. She sent two to her sister who lives in Houston, also. We'll compare notes on whether the plants thrive in the South.
Izzie is one smart lady, and she makes me feel smart by agreeing with me.
Caminante, I'll have a word with the squirrels in my yard and tell them to pass the word through the squirrel network to their kin up Nawth to leave your daffodil bulbs alone.
Mimi, I've only just seen your answer! Sorry about that.
Your grandpere does keep busy. Out of the list you give, I grow squash, zucchini, taties, and broccoli - in fact I have purple sprouting broccoli just about ready to be harvested at the moment. Tomatoes I reckon don't do so well in this cold country - you need long Mediterranean-style summers to get them sweet enough. Ditto with the citrus fruit you mention, though I would love to grow oranges. We do get fabulous raspberries, gooseberries and strawberries in the UK though, and I grow all of those. Lettuce I am too lazy to grow because we have so many snails and slugs and it's too much of an effort keeping them at bay.
I'm so behind on the veg patch this year already - I should have done some winter pruning and haven't. I will have to try to catch up next week, when I have a couple of days off.
I love finding out what other people are growing. Thanks Mimi!!
Tom has grown strawberries here, too, but we can't grow raspberries or blueberries here in Thibodaux, but, as I said, we have blueberry bushes in New Roads. Blackberries grow wild around here, so it's just a matter of finding them and picking them.
Hey, it's still only February! We're going to get 6 - 10 new inches of snow today, after missing most of the latest big storms. And... they did not cancel school this morning (to the chagrin of my daughter), though some schools are closing early. Snow up to six inches normally does not affect travel much - much worse to get a smidgeon of sleet or freezing rain (sometimes below freezing temperatures are a blessing).
ReplyDeleteI realize, however, that this winter has been tough for the South and Southeast, which are not accustomed to or prepared for the snow and cold we often get from November through April.
Stay warm Mimi!
Stay warm Mimi!
ReplyDeleteI try, Klady. We had a frost again last night. We're more fortunate than folks in other places, but I'm sick of winter.
I'm with Sammy the Squirrel too. This is the point of the year where I have had enough. Mind you it is also the point of the year where it becomes maddeningly obvious that spring is nearly here - there are various things waking up on the fruit & veg patch, like the comfrey, the sea kale, the rhubarb and the hawthorn bush - but that's why I start champing at the bit for an end to the rain and the dark and the snow. The clocks go forward in about a month, I cannot wait.
ReplyDeleteCathy, Grandpère is now planting two burning bush shrubs, which our friend from Connecticut sent us. He had them in buckets, and they're full of leaves. I hope that the bushes do well here in the South.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of burning bush shrubs so I just looked them up. They are absolutely beautiful - lucky you. I hope they do well too. What does Grandpere have lined up for the veg patch this year? I already have my potatoes ready to go in but the soil is really waterlogged at the moment.
ReplyDeleteOh my, the "Gardener's" catalog arrived today and I had fun looking through it. We really can't plant outside until the end of May, but people are already buying seeds at the local hardware store.
ReplyDeleteMimi, I do hope the burning bush does well there too. They are so lovely in the fall.
Oh, and Izzie agrees with Sammy even though we've only had one real snow storm so far this winter.
ReplyDeleteAmelia, I saw the burning bush plants when I was in Connecticut in October and admired them, which is why my friends sent the bushes to me. She sent two to her sister who lives in Houston, also. We'll compare notes on whether the plants thrive in the South.
ReplyDeleteIzzie is one smart lady, and she makes me feel smart by agreeing with me.
The ground is BARE in Rutland, though twenty-five miles away, they got 30 inches. Go figure.
ReplyDeleteYou tell those skwerls to thaw their nuts out before they start digging up my daffodil bulbs again.
Cathy, I never answered your question. Tom grows:
ReplyDeletetomatoes
yellow squash
zucchini
bell peppers
potatoes
corn (sometimes)
In the fall and winter, he grows:
broccoli
lettuce
cauliflower (sometimes)
late tomatoes (until we have a freeze)
He also grows citrus:
satsumas
oranges
kumquats
In New Roads we have blueberry bushes, more citrus, and peaches.
He's quite a gardener.
Caminante, I'll have a word with the squirrels in my yard and tell them to pass the word through the squirrel network to their kin up Nawth to leave your daffodil bulbs alone.
ReplyDeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteMimi, I've only just seen your answer! Sorry about that.
ReplyDeleteYour grandpere does keep busy. Out of the list you give, I grow squash, zucchini, taties, and broccoli - in fact I have purple sprouting broccoli just about ready to be harvested at the moment. Tomatoes I reckon don't do so well in this cold country - you need long Mediterranean-style summers to get them sweet enough. Ditto with the citrus fruit you mention, though I would love to grow oranges. We do get fabulous raspberries, gooseberries and strawberries in the UK though, and I grow all of those. Lettuce I am too lazy to grow because we have so many snails and slugs and it's too much of an effort keeping them at bay.
I'm so behind on the veg patch this year already - I should have done some winter pruning and haven't. I will have to try to catch up next week, when I have a couple of days off.
I love finding out what other people are growing. Thanks Mimi!!
Tom has grown strawberries here, too, but we can't grow raspberries or blueberries here in Thibodaux, but, as I said, we have blueberry bushes in New Roads. Blackberries grow wild around here, so it's just a matter of finding them and picking them.
ReplyDelete