spring!

I don't care if it 'snowed' for a few hours this week.  The daffodils are blooming, so as far as I'm concerned, spring is officially on its way.

I had a nice little surprise Monday when I came home, a crocus.

I didn't plant it, and it hasn't bloomed in the 2 previous springs at my house.  I suspected there were some close to this location, but they have yet to bloom, so I was unsure.  I'm not sure *why* this crocus decided to bloom this year, but I like it, and I may plant more next fall.

Seed update:

I've stayed true to my word, and started seeds this year.  The first batch of seeds I started on the 15th were the ones that said plant 6-8 weeks before last frost.  (Our frost date is typically around April 15th) These include Malva, Foxglove, Strawberry Foxglove, Lilliput Asters.

Foxglove

Lilliput Aster

Malva

Strawberry Foxglove

They're all doing well so far, and all have germinated & my asters have even graduated from 2 leaves to real leaves.  They're doing so well, that I'm going to continue to leave them alone for a while. I have a feeling that the more I mess with them, the worse off they'll be.

I'm using rope lights instead of a heat mat.

I also got out my handy dandy Park's Seeds book, and read that my columbine seeds needed to chill in the refrigerator for 3 weeks before being moved to a sunny spot.  So that's where they are right now.  Who knew?

When I looked at the backs of my seed packets,  it turns out that I'll do plantings in 3 waves, the first wave was 2/15/14, the next wave is 3/1/14, and the last wave will be 3/15/14. 

Roses:

Thank you all for not buying up all of the Buff Beauties at Rose Petals Nursery.  After talking with the wonderful people at Rose Petals Nursery, we decided my front yard may not be the perfect place for Buff Beauty.  They pointed me in the direction of China & Noisette roses for my front yard, and I selected the beautiful Cramoisi Superieur.  So come April I will be the proud owner of both roses, and I can't wait!

Buff Beauty

Cramoisi Superieur

Garden Maintenance
It's still too cold for me to really want to work in the yard, but I have started taking advantage of the warm moments, and I'm always thinking and planning.  The only thing I've really done so far is trim back the dead leaves on my hellebores.  I don't usually have to do this, but we don't usually get as much snow as we've had either.  The plants look unusually small now that they're trimmed up, but they're still blooming up a storm.  Here's a look at what else is on my list:

• Move plants outside.  I kept a few plants in a cold room inside this winter, and I need to start moving them out so they will wake up. (completed 3/7/14)
• Pick up sticks.  Sounds like a small task, but it's not.  I live in the woods, and we've had quite a few storms lately. (completed 3/9/14)
• Fertilize.  It's time to start thinking about compost and mulch. (roses & boxwoods 3/11/14)
• Pull up grass.  I'm slowly but surely moving to an all moss lawn.  I just work one section at a time.
• Trim out dead blackberries, & mow over blackberries outside the fence line.

Spring Projects

• Build 2 window boxes.
• Add lattice for my confederate jasmine.
• Build structure for my morning glories to climb.  I want to do two fixed posts with a twine spiderweb in between.  This will make it easy to just cut down the vines when they die in the fall.
• A raised bed for vines around a tree.

This post turned into more than just a few pictures of flowers, but if you live in the Chattanooga area, it's a good gauge of what you can be doing to get your garden ready for spring.  :)