Spring's Comin'

Snow's meltin'. The crocuses are blooming, and the daffodils are pushing up hard behind. Time to get out the seed catalogs, plan the garden.

When I first got my land here, I planted bulbs. I love the color, and wanted something just for fun...there's always more than enough work to country living, and I thought the flowers would give me something 'just for purty'. Turns out there's more to these bulbs than just pretty. I've learned I have a planting clock built in. Been watching this clock for about twelve years now, and it's never wrong.

First comes the crocus. Got to think about the seeds, and what you want to plant. Then comes the daffodils. Better make sure the beds are dug and amended. Put some seedlings in the greenhouse and plant the peas and radishes, the early, cold loving plants. When the tulips are up, lay out your starts. When the iris are blooming, start the tomatoes and peppers, the hot weather plants. When the tiger lilies are up, the garden is ready for pumpkins and melons .

Sometimes we get a spate of warm winter weather. I'm always tempted to run out and plant, til I look at the bulb bed. Just a couple of crocus winking at me...better wait. Good thing I waited this year...we had one foot of snow two days later!

This year the daffodils are pushing up hard behind the crocus. I'm thinking spring will come pretty quickly. I'd better not waste too much time dilly-dallying over the catologues. Spring's comin'.