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February Gardening, Last of Winter in the Flower Garden

February 12, 2019 by Ilona Erwin Leave a Comment

I’ve had plenty of winter this year, yessiree. It is mid-February and that means the worst is over and spring is on its way. Eventually. February gardening in Ohio usually means lots of waiting, unless you are starting your seeds inside. Then, under the lights you see sprouts of spring -just about when March is ready to blow into the calendar year. The last of winter in the flower garden will not likely yield many flowering plants here, unless it is one of those unusual mild winters.

We were in deep freeze until recently when the climate had wild swings from near zero (or below) to tropical 50-60 °.  Presently we are looking to receive more rain on top of our already saturated ground. I didn’t experience them, but learned about frost quakes for the first time. Apparently places like Pennsylvania and Minnesota had them. Due to the saturated ground and polar vortex, there were pops and explosions of the earth.

Yes, I’m a little worried for my peach trees. I planted three new ones and gave them no protection. They would have been better prepared with some mulch and wrapped trunks.

Winter Beauty

We had plenty of winter beauty this year, and with the snowfall this month, it was prettier than usual for this month. I have memories of February being soggy with dirty half-melted snow. We either have snow or not around here (usually not) in cold weather; and it looks halfway presentable for photos. Although I took almost none this winter.

I love the beauty to be had, but was a bit jaded when it comes to photographs. I get tired of winter snowscapes -except when experiencing them firsthand.

We had some exceptional scenes, and it is too bad I had such an attitude about using a camera. We had ice storms that coated the trees, winter wonderland snowfalls, and a particularly magical scene of hoarfrost and new fallen snow together one night. The ground was covered in fluffy white, while the fog froze on every branch and withered weed. The wands of the willow tree hung like cascades of diamond dusted ice curtains over the driveway.

Truly magical in the deep night of winter.

I did take a few pics for instagram, after one of the recent snowfalls.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

#throughthewindow

A post shared by Ilona (@ilonagarden) on Feb 1, 2019 at 7:32am PST

The Flowers Are Coming

All this month the spears of daffodil and snowdrops have shown that they are eager to emerge.  I should be inspecting since sometimes the snowdrops have come into full bloom without me even realizing it. I used to get a glimpse from the window, but now I have to actually venture into the yard to see them blooming. (I let the pyracantha grow over the window last year)

After about a decade or more they finally decided they liked my yard. Galanthus nivalis has been planted here in a couple spots, but never multiplied in the happy way that the Glory of the snow (Chionodoxa)  bulbs have. Until the last year or two! Then there were snowdrops coming up in the lawn and all around the Magnolia stellata.

The snowdrops are the earliest blooming bulbs, here.

Then come the daffodils, and ‘February Gold’, despite its name, usually does not appear until March. A diminutive sized plant and flower that has perfect proportions in a clear golden yellow. It is one of my favorite daffodil cultivars. ( Although I have many, many favorites, honestly).

Spring 2009
Scillas in the box, a young Magnolia stellata immediately behind.

Magnolia stellata starts budding out at the end of this month, but because it flowers early sometimes the blossoms are ruined in late frosts which we can expect into April. Groundhog Day predicted that winter will end sooner rather than later… but I have my doubts.

All The Rain

I can’t imagine being out in the garden anytime soon with all the rain we have had, and continue to have. It gets soppy-soggy and muddy even in normal years. This year is exceptionally wet… as I think I said.

The frozen state of the ground helps a bit, but when it thaws- it sucked my husbands shoe right off!

That reminds me. On a topic detour: so many gardening people complain about grass and lawns, but it is during mud season that you can appreciate the quality of grassed areas. The grass is useful for swales to help water runoff without losing soil, and when walking anywhere in my yard at this time, the protection of grass means one can walk through necessary areas. A garden isn’t the place for fads, but a stewardship of the ground we borrow for a time. I don’t love lawns at all, but they do have their uses.

That winds up my little chat as I drop in on this blog and update you on what is happening in the garden.

‘Til next time

Ilona

Filed Under: How's the weather?, My Place Tagged With: February, lawns, my garden, signs of spring, weather in Ohio

St. Francis Joke All About Gardens

October 8, 2003 by Ilona Erwin

A Christian Garden Joke

“One heavenly spring morning, God got into a

conversation with St. Francis about lawns. The

conversation went something like this…….

 

GOD: St. Francis, you know all about gardens and

nature. What in the world is going on down there in

the USA? What happened to the dandelions, violets,

thistle, and the other stuff I started eons ago? I had

a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan. I created

plants that grow in any type of soil, withstand

drought, and multiply like crazy. The nectar from the

long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honeybees

and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see down there

a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are

these green rectangles.

 

ST. FRANCIS: It’s the tribes that settled there, Lord.

The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers

weeds, and went to great lengths to kill them and

replace them with grass.

 

GOD: Grass? But it’s so boring. It’s not colorful. It

doesn’t attract butterflies, birds and bees, only

grubs and sod worms. It’s temperamental with

temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all

that grass growing there?

 

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great

pains to grow it, and keep it green. They begin each

spring by fertilizing their grass, and poisoning any

other plant that crops up in the lawn.

 

GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make

grass grow really fast. That must make the

Suburbanites happy.

 

ST. FRANCIS: Lord, I’m afraid not. As soon as the

grass grows a little, they cut it, sometimes twice a

week.

 

GOD: They cut it?! Do they then bale it like hay?

 

ST. FRANCIS: Well, not exactly Lord. Most

“Suburbanites” rake it up and put it in bags.

 

GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell

it?

 

ST. FRANCIS: No, sir — just the opposite. They pay to

throw it away.

 

GOD: Now, let me get this straight. They fertilize

grass so it will grow. And when it does grow, they cut

it off and pay to throw it away?

 

ST. FRANCIS: Yes, sir.

 

GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer

when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat.

That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of

work.

 

ST. FRANCIS: Lord, you’re not going to believe this.

When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out

hoses, and pay more money to water it so they can

continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

 

GOD: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the

trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say

so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to

provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn

they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to

keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and

bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to

enhance the soil. It’s a natural circle of life.

 

ST. FRANCIS: You’d better sit down, Lord. The

Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the

leaves fall, they rake them into huge piles, and pay

to have them hauled away, too.

 

GOD: No way!! What do they do to protect the shrub and

tree roots in the winter and to keep the soil moist

and loose?

 

ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go

out and buy something which they call mulch. They haul

it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

 

GOD: And where do they get this mulch?

 

ST. FRANCIS: They cut down trees and grind them up to

make the mulch.

 

GOD: Enough! I don’t want to think about this anymore.

St. Catherine, you’re in charge of the arts. What

movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

 

ST. CATHERINE: Dumb and Dumber, Lord. It’s a real

stupid movie about……..

 

GOD: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story

from St. Francis.

 

….Author Unknown ”

Ok , we are a whole different breed, but I thought it was cute. It came my way from a gardening newsletter that is very encouraging and worthwhile:

Steve Hallowell (no longer online)

and now, class, what have we learned? There is good reason to use mulch 🙂

and all the necessary ingredients are right under our gardening noses.

Filed Under: Garden Quotations Tagged With: garden humor, lawns, mulch

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Oh, hi there!

I was a garden blog pioneer, and began writing on this blog in 2003. Before that I had begun a garden website that has been at its own domain since 2006, Ilona's Garden.

I still love writing, gardening, and art after all these years, although travel and grandchildren have become a big part of my life, now.

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