the way old friends do

 Nights are still cold, but days are warm enough to start working outside.  The more hands, the merrier!

I've been so happy to see the cheerful faces of old friends, slowly emerging from their sleep.   

Catmint

Obedient Plant

Phlox

Sedum

And, of course, all the new bulbs planted last year continue to push out leaves.

Daffodils

Naked Lady Lilies

Tulips

Most of my indoor growing is progressing, although I don't have enough experience to know if they're doing really well.  Some of the stems aren't perfectly straight...but I'll keep moving them along, downstairs to upstairs to potting barn...and if they grow, they go (in the ground, that is!).

They are so tiny!

My two most frost-tolerant plants are already getting their daily treatment outdoors.  Sweet peas love it cold, so every day I take them out into the cold sunshine and move them back inside at dusk.  They will go in the ground within...two to three weeks?  The netting over top protects from birds.

My ranuculus and anemones, also very frost-tolerant, are now in the ground.  I grew them out in containers to give them a little bit of size and strength:

I dug into the soil under the caterpillar tunnel, amended with compost and a bit of fertilizer, laid down some newspaper to suppress weeds, cut holes for the seedlings, and planted.  A layer of mulch held down the newspaper and will help insulate plants.

It doesn't look tidy...

And...whomp whomp!...I made the row too wide, so the caterpillar tunnel doesn't cover all plants.

Well, it's sink or swim around here.  Either they'll do well with the slightly below-average protection, or they won't, and I'll plant something else in their place.  For future beds I'll be using a large roll of brown paper from Uline.  I can just unroll it over the entire row and cut holes for the plants, rather than fussing with small bits of newspaper.  I hate, hate, hate seeing weeds in the garden so this extra step is necessary for me!

As a reminder, this is what the ranuculus will look like if they prosper.  Just the possibility of it is enough to make the work worthwhile!

photo courtesy of Eden Brothers

Claudia is still prowling around...

...and starting to deliver the daily vole again, which is great - because the yard is absolutely full of tunnels.

Tabitha is always on guard for this dangerous trespasser on our porch. 

This gives her something important to do between naps.

I love seeing the return of the red-winged blackbird.  They're so vocal and their call just sounds like spring.

The new season is definitely keeping us busy...we're replacing fences, having mulch and compost delivered, plowing another field, laying out walking paths, building a fire pit, having our front porch partially rebuilt...and that's with our regular work and all of my plant preoccupations.  But I love the hustle bustle of activity on our little farm.

Have a great week!