Good morning on this first Saturday of spring here in the Northern Hemisphere!
After beginning this month with a surprise snow dump, we are now officially entering spring having just enjoyed a lovely week of highs in the 70’s. Just in time for another system to hit us with lots of rain and cooler temps in the 50’s for most of the remaining month. Actually pretty normal for spring in Oregon. Weather whiplash;)
Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging! This is a group that publishes an oasis of garden delight and dialogue every Sat. at 9am Eastern. We welcome all to join our discussion and share what’s going/growing on in your garden!
A Convocation of Those With Grimy Fingernails. Founded by Frankenoid in February, 2005.
This month has been about slowly getting winter’s mess cleaned out of the plants to let the new growth breathe, and trimming back the dead and diseased bits. Taking note of what has not come back as well. It is still a bit early for some of my perennials like the columbines, which I am not seeing at all;( but my daffodils are actually about a month ahead of last year.
I got the corner where the exterior of the building meets the fence on the north side all cleaned out. Lots of leaves fall down behind and underneath stuff so there was quite a mess I swept out into the gravel area. In what I consider to be perfect serendipity I had finished up and taken this photo of my work, gone back inside, and was just sitting down to finish the last of my coffee when I heard the telltale roar of a leafblower. Sure enough the yard maintenance crew had arrived and was just starting to come through! I could not have timed my clean up better! (They clear out that gravel area once a week.)
I did cut some of those to bring inside as they started drooping and with all of that rain coming I want to extend their cheer as long as I can!
All of the seeds I ordered have arrived now! I am very excited to get my grow bags emptied out and cleaned so I can direct sow a bunch of the root crops I got. I also will be getting trays set up in the little greenhouse for lots of flowers and herbs.
Other spring garden tasks have me checking some of my books for advice/guidance. I splurged on a bunch of new-to-me titles right after the holidays and have pretty much filled up a whole shelf. (Don’t ask about my cookbooks, they have two bookcases!)
Lastly I will leave you with some surprise art! When going down to the library last weekend we crossed Bear Creek and were pleasantly surprised to see these underpass murals:
From Travel Medford:
A frequent host of music events, farmer’s markets, and other community gatherings, Hawthorne Park was deserving of a beautiful mural. Enter artist Jessilyn Brinkerhoff and her team.
Each of the six chosen pillars holding up I-5 were painted with a theme that showcases the Rogue Valley's landscapes and natural history. With twelve compositions total, each design features a native species in their habitat for a month of the year.
Jessilyn and her team also received help from the Wildlife Images Center, gathering important details about certain species, including the Western pond turtle, blue heron, trout, salmon, rattlesnake, swallowtail butterfly, pollinators, insects, black bear and cougar.
What’s going on in your area? We have SMGB’ers from all over the world so please feel welcome to ask questions or just say hello! I am on the West Coast and am not much of a morning person so I will be along later to join you in the comments, fresh hot coffee in hand!