I didn’t make it to the party on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day or Foliage Followup due to an overwhelming week, but I can now share what’s going on in my garden. It’s been a week full of wonders as our temperatures have fluctuated all seven days. Today is supposed to be warm after two cold days, and we don’t have snow like Seattle. Thank goodness. Rain is forecast for later in the week. We shall see. It’s been so warm and dry this winter I feel like I’m in south Texas, not Oklahoma.
We need rain. Desperately.
Plants are budded out and ready to bloom. Hamamelis and hellebores are poised and ready, even peeking out a bit. I keep hoping they will hold off, but you can’t stop spring even if it is two months too early.
“What happened to winter?” I ask the plants as I walk about the property. The pansies, usually all burned foliage by this time, barely need a pinch here and there before I snap their photo. Their sunny faces smile up at me as if to say, “We haven’t a care.”
Unlike the pansies, I can’t enjoy such mild winters because I worry everything will get too far along, and we’ll have another freeze that will finally kill my Acer palmatum ‘Tamukeyama’ in the front, raised bed.
Plus, the summer bugs will become hordes if cold doesn’t kill some of them.
I not only have winter birds at the feeder, but some of the summer birds never flew south. What does that mean for migration?
“The garden needs its winter rest, and so do I,” I complain, but I get no response. The plants, if they had ears to listen, would just cover them with their leaves and sing, “We can’t hear you. La, la, la, la, la.”
I’m over in Arkansas, to your east… we have a night of 22 degrees and one of 23 degrees this week, according to the forecast. It’s not too cold, but at least it’s below freezing, and perhaps that’ll discourage the buds and kill some of the bugs.
Hey, I still have those sweet pea seeds I gathered for you somewhere in my desk (I think!)… send me a mailing address and I’ll send them your way, if you still want to try them. 🙂
I agree Dee, it’s like we are waiting for something bad to happen. It’s nice to have the great weather to tend to outdoor projects, but we need the rain (hopefully Gary is right and it will come later today). I do remember the nightmare blizzard we had last Feb though, and don’t want that again. Wouldn’t it be great if we could order our precip like we do our take out? I’ll take about half an inch a couple times a week please, and hold the hot sauce. Enjoy your day dear.
I’m loving this weather but I’m also fearful about the summer bug population. And a late freeze. I am SO with you.
Your concerns about the lack of typical winter weather are shared by me. I worry too that things will just all bloom so early and we will have nothing to look at in spring beyond green. I hope you get your rain.
Love the pansies in your images Dee. We have them growing all around our property, even in the lawn. They keep their little faces low enough we can usually mow right over them without destroying them. They are just so cute.
I’m a bit jealous of your temps while reading your post from my home office here in New Brunswick Canada on this clear and so cold of a Sunday morning. I had to bring out an extra heater just for my office this morning.
We can’t really complain about the growing season we had in 2011. It just seemed to continue right through October before frost was strong enough to make summer end. We didn’t really even have any snow to speak of until just a couple of days ago, however we did have just enough to make Christams more like Christmas in the Canadian Maritimes and then it was gone again.
Everything here is now covered with the white stuff. Now our garden and backyard is sleeping and I’m resting and planning for spring 2012.
I have mixed emotions about the absolutely GORGEOUS weather we’ve been having in N. Texas. I personally love it!! I am getting TONS done in my garden right now, getting projects done that I won’t be able to do when the spring rush starts. BUT I realize another freeze will come and the plants are budding out and there will be injury because I can’t cover my whole half acre with frost cloth to save the buds. I do remember several years ago that my Bridal Wreath Spiraea was completely budded out in January and then it froze in February and burned all the buds. But it recovered and came back fine. This year, even though it has been so warm, my Bridal Wreath has not started budding yet. H’m….maybe it learned from the last time. Smarty plants!
It is a worry that we will see a repeat of late frost when the trees have leafed out. It would devastate the Japanese Maples. But the lower energy bills and being able to work out in the garden are pleasant side effects. Your pansies and garden still are very beautiful.
I have such mixed feelings about the warm weather~I love getting out there cleaning up and enjoying gardening but, I worry that we’ll have another 2007. That’s when we got zapped with a killing frost in April after everything was bloomed out including the trees. In the meantime I love looking at your pretty pansies. The kale and angel are perfect with them. xoxogail
After two harsh winters, we’re having a mild one again. I don’t trust February, though … we always seem to get our worst winter weather then.
It is freezing cold here and we might have sleet and ice tomorrow. I love that winter has finally arrived here. I hope you get some, for all the reasons you noted.
It is so warm out that I’m cleaning the vegetable garden today without a coat on. If it stays this dry though, we will have to limit how much we plant. Last summer’s water bills can’t be repeated.
Hi Dee, I hope we aren’t reading about the big freeze sometime soon at your place. It has been a nice winter. Here we are to have an ice storm later today. I will believe it when it hits. So much bad weather has gone north of us. I am not complaining. I have daffs peeking out of the ground as well as hellebores budded up. This is a winter to remember in a good way…so far.
Cheers.
We need winter too Dee! So very far behind on rain here that I am very worried about what will happen this summer. We have had almost NO rain…I just don’t understand it.
We too are having mild weather. My violas are behaving – or being behaved to – oddly. At the front of the house they are flowering happily. (At least, the blue and white ones are. The lovely orange and red ones aren’t.) In the back garden, none of them are. I’m glad the blue at the front are flowering but, if they can, why can’t the rest? It’s windy though.
Until last week I had pansies blooming, too. With the snow and the freezing cold, I can finally believe it’s winter. Hope you get some rain, Dee! I’ve had the opposite problem with birds–the winter species that usually fill my yard apparently never made it this far south this year.
Winter is playing games this season don’t you think? Here and there although this morning I woke to a beautiful but thin blanket of white. Love those cheery faces of the pansies.
Oh, we got rain last night! I am thankful! Here I thought that when we moved to Alabama I would never have to be longing for rain. Well, just goes to show you never know. Our winter so very mild–I killed a yellow jacket yesterday. An overwhelming week here, too– thanks for the encouragement to keep writing. Love you.
For once I am actually glad we finally have winter…cold and snow with breaks of 40 degree temps and a bit of a thaw…the plants are rejoicing and so am I for the rest although I am busy growing greens and herbs this winter…I wish you a break and rain Dee!!