FEBRUARY

1. -some tulips are up; daffodils, paper whites, crocus have buds
   

2. -camellias are bursting with buds
   

3. -witch hazel blossoms are showing
   

4. -last fall’s lettuce is still OK
   

5. -one calendula plant has survived the winter
   

6. -the back yard is void of greenery due to chickens (they have been temporarily pinned inside moveable fence to get grass and plants growing
   

7. -forsythia is ready to bloom
   

8. -several strawberry plants have survived the winter
   

9. -azalea blooms are forming
   

10. -Lenten rose is in full bloom.
    

11. -major freeze.  temperature dipped to 19º.  Nothing was damaged, but everything stopped growing.
    

12. -dug one new bed to plant more early Spring veggies.
    

13. -Forsythia is half in bloom.  The Lenten rose has outdone itself this year.  It is gorgeous.  The tiny buds on the redbud tree are beginning to show.  Some of the tulip magnolia blooms have opened.  Still trying to decide how to recreate the backyard so that the chickens and I are both happy.
    

14. - Snow peas, lettuce, and carrots seeds have become seedlings.
    

15. -Indoor seeds are doing well.  There is evidence of life for all seeds except one tray of peppers and the husk tomato.
    

16. -Some tulips are up; daffodils, paper whites, crocus have buds; camellias are bursting with buds; witch hazel blossoms are showing; last fall’s lettuce is still OK; one calendula plant has survived the winter; the back yard is void of greenery due to chickens (they have been temporarily pinned inside moveable fence to get grass and plants growing; forsythia is ready to bloom; several strawberry plants have survived the winter; azalea blooms are forming; Lenten rose is in full bloom.
    

17. -
    

MARCH

1. -tulip magnolia, forsythia, camellias, and a few azaleas are in full bloom. 
   

2. -First green tips have appeared on the kiwi
   

3. -Cherry and blueberry bushes are bursting with blooms
   

4. -Strawberry plants that I planted in early February are emerging
   

5. -First planting of peas, carrots, and lettuce are growing well’
   

6. -I spotted the first shoots of peonies this morning.  i can smell the blooms now!
   

7. -The cherry bush blossoms are now accompanied by greenery, like the forsythia.
   

8. -First furry blooms of the fothegilla are showing, and the buds of the witch hazel are taking shape.
   

9. -Red bud trees are in full bloom.
   

10. -Dogwoods are being to show white blossoms.
    

11. -Most azaleas have color.
    

12. -transplanted new roses and moved other roses except the sweetheart rose.
    

13. -dug new beds, compost, etc.
    

1. -I have named all of the gardens.   Here is a brief description of each:
   

    The Orchard:  area where I have planted blueberries, raspberries, cherries, kiwi.

    The GIngko Garden:  about 8 feet of garden space around the front of the ginkgo tree

    Redbud Hill:  a new rectangular area dug at the highest part of the front yard near the new redbud tree

    Peace Garden:  in the front yard; stones divide the round garden into 3 sections, which, if viewed from overhead, would be shaped like a peace sign

    The Rose Garden:  two raised beds in the back yard previously used for vegetables.  Planting anything that chickens won’t eat out there.

    Yet Unnamed:  an area on the other side of the driveway.

APRIL

- After April 8th I planted more peas, more lettuce, and more carrots.  I transplanted the tomatoes, peppers, parsley, asters, and huckleberries.  The day AFTER, we had 2 days of frost.  I covered what I could with a frost blanket.  The only thing that had any damage was the bouganvilla, which I had already set outside, and one of the 6 blueberry bushes.  Neither was damaged seriously, and they are both recovering nicely.

1. -I planted sunflowers, safflowers, carrots, and peas in the gingko garden.  One section of that garden, where the tomatoes are, is a blanket of red right now.  I had planted 3 amaranth plants there last year, and thought that I had saved all of the seeds.  Not so.  Thousands of little baby amaranths have emerged.  I plan to move several of them to an area on the other side of the ginkgo tree.  I never thought about the fact that seeds I plant may become new weeds in the garden.  Some of the small plants will be added to my salad mix!
   

- So many beautiful flowers bloomed in April - some of them quite early. The azaleas were gorgeous this year, as were the rhododendrons. The peonies bloomed in the last week of April, at least 2 weeks early.  I have a pot of shasta daisies that is bursting with blossoms this year, prettier than ever before. The red hot poker “warmed” up the landscape about mid-April.  Just this week the amaryllis have bloomed.  Some critter ate the first two blooms, but the rest have gone untouched, and they are beautiful - a variegated deep orange and white.

- Most of the dahlias from last year plus the ones that I planted this year are now about 3-4 inches high, and the calla lilies are all up.   I added compost around all of the callas, hoping that they will bloom this year.

- I tilled the new area (Redbud Hill) and added peat moss, lime, and compost.   When I planted my seeds I added Seed Starter to each mound.  I planted the three sisters - corn, black beans, and squash - zucchini and yellow crook necked in mounds, 4” high, 4 feet in diameter.  Between the mounds I planted cilantro and cucumbers.  I edged the area with marigolds.

1. -I got some Pike and American Express gift cards for my birthday and had a blast picking out some potted herbs, two new very fragrant roses, petunias, and some Princess feathers.  They have all been properly installed and watered well.  It has been two weeks since we had any rain of measure, so I’m watering everything that has seeds planted and early seedlings every day, and everything else every other day.
   

-I planted some Kentucky Wonder Beans on the ends of the trellises that the Snow Peas are on, with the intention of filling them in once the snow peas are gone.  I also planted new beds of mesclun, Red d’Hiver, and Romaine lettuce.  In the Yet Unnamed garden I have planted more Kentucky Wonder beans, parsley, cilantro, and Mexican bush beans. 

1. -I planted potatoes in an old garden cart whose tires were flat, and ad compost and dirt every two weeks to encourage more potatoes.
   

1. -I have planted 20 garlic sets in the GInkgo garden and all of them came up.
   

- We have eaten lettuce from the garden several times, and the first carrots that were planted are just about ready for harvest.  There are snow peas ready for picking.  This is such an exciting time.  Every day something  blooms, or ripens, or pops it’s head out from ‘neath the earth.  What joy!!