Search: cabin fever

The First Blooms of 2019

– Posted in: Mud Season, What's up/blooming

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Thank goodness my “desperate measures” are already in place. I’ve been planting early blooming bulbs where the snow melts first for several years. And every time the snow starts to melt, I check all those places for signs of emerging sprouts. Do you want to see what I found during our most recent thaw? It's easier than you think to have flowers blooming sooner than your neighbors.

The Last of the Hardiest

– Posted in: Hellebores, What's up/blooming

November started out marvelously with highs in the 50s(F) and one day even hit 66°(19C). The second week the switch flipped and the real November showed up with a vengeance. Most nights have been in the teens, but we also got two nights that dipped into single digits (9F=-13C)--that's unseasonably low for November and was [...]

Is It A Garden Plant Or A Weed Wildflower?

– Posted in: Native/Invasive

Every flower is a wildflower--a native plant--somewhere, though this is easy to forget when that "somewhere" is on the other side of the world. On the other hand, it's easy to take our own native wildflowers for granted, or even despise them as weeds. And many popular garden plants native to North America had to be recognized as garden-worthy by gardeners in other countries before they were adopted by gardeners here. So, how do you tell if a plant belongs in the garden, or is a wildflower--or a weed?

Spring Is Buried Under A Blizzard: Garden Bloggers Bloom Day March 2017

– Posted in: Weather, What's up/blooming

I just knew a mild February would mean trouble later on. Spring in February doesn't happen here without some sort of counterbalance later on. But even I couldn't guess it would be the snowstorm of the century. I thought those sub-zero temperatures the week before were punishment enough. Read on to learn what was blooming before Snowmageddon and what is currently cheering me in the house.

The January Thaw

– Posted in: Weather, What's up/blooming

The January thaw is an accepted part of weather lore around here--thaw being a relative term--meaning warmer than you would expect but not necessarily warm enough to melt all the snow. But this year almost all the snow did melt, save the piles that accumulate from removing it from the walk, driveway, and road. As a matter of fact, it was 58°F(14°C) on Sunday as I glanced at my phone and read "Winter Storm Watch in effect for Monday." What? It's gorgeous out! But--it is January, after all.

Kathy’s Speaking Engagements

Every so often I get out and about. I'd love to meet you at one of the following events! September 19 - I'll be telling the Southern Hills Garden Club of LaFayette, NY all about Colchicums: Autumn's Best-Kept Secret, at the LaFayette Community Center, 2508 US Route 11 (next to Dollar General), LaFayette, NY 13084 [...]