The cruelest time of year................
It is early in March. It is the beginning of meteorological spring.
And I am still knitting.
I look out the window and I see areas where the snow has melted away.
Is it time???
Is it time to get out and clean the gardens filled with garden debris?? Is it time to cut back the perennials .... clean up the fallen branches and twigs ..... spread the fresh clean mulch that makes everything look new again?
Some ask why I don't clean the gardens in the fall. I don't. I live in zone 5 .... but we are truly in a micro-climate of zone 4. Being on top of a hill -- the arctic air whips around us. I think the perennials have more protection with their tops on! Like a hat on our heads. Does that protect them from losing all of their stored up heat??
I leave the garden for my friends .... a praying mantis egg case does no good when you destroy the plant it was on. The birds are grateful for the seed heads I leave behind. The ladybugs are thankful for the protection of the day lilies and their decaying leaves.
I don't live in the garden alone.
I don't start my seeds yet ... as I have no greenhouse. (I can barely keep my house heated .... I'll fore go trying to heat a greenhouse!) Besides ....tomatoes started now will be spindly and pot-bound by the time I can get them planted. They don't need that stress ........... and neither do I.
Yes ... it is the cruelest time of year. I am drawn to the earthy smell of our rich soil. I dream of the garden ... the layout... the color .... the scents.
But it is too soon to work.
I will knit.
And I am still knitting.
I look out the window and I see areas where the snow has melted away.
Is it time???
Is it time to get out and clean the gardens filled with garden debris?? Is it time to cut back the perennials .... clean up the fallen branches and twigs ..... spread the fresh clean mulch that makes everything look new again?
Some ask why I don't clean the gardens in the fall. I don't. I live in zone 5 .... but we are truly in a micro-climate of zone 4. Being on top of a hill -- the arctic air whips around us. I think the perennials have more protection with their tops on! Like a hat on our heads. Does that protect them from losing all of their stored up heat??
I leave the garden for my friends .... a praying mantis egg case does no good when you destroy the plant it was on. The birds are grateful for the seed heads I leave behind. The ladybugs are thankful for the protection of the day lilies and their decaying leaves.
I don't live in the garden alone.
I don't start my seeds yet ... as I have no greenhouse. (I can barely keep my house heated .... I'll fore go trying to heat a greenhouse!) Besides ....tomatoes started now will be spindly and pot-bound by the time I can get them planted. They don't need that stress ........... and neither do I.
Yes ... it is the cruelest time of year. I am drawn to the earthy smell of our rich soil. I dream of the garden ... the layout... the color .... the scents.
But it is too soon to work.
I will knit.
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