• Subject: Re: I think it's spring
• From: A*@aol.com
• Date: Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:20:11 EDT

Bizarre weather.  The piles of snow are gone, washed away by the floods,
and today it's in the 70s.  I got down to the vegetable garden for the first
time since December. I put in a short row of peas, since the ground was
quite thawed.  For the past two years I have had no crop of peas or beans
because the plants were eaten by some critter - probably a woodchuck.This
time I started with a short row, and gave it a heavy treatment of a new 
product
offered by Park's which says it repels small pests. We'll see.  There's not 
much
point in planting when things get eaten before they can produce.  I'll try 
this 
with squash and sunflowers when it's time to plant them - in the last couple
of years the seeds have been eaten right in the ground before they sprouted 
-
chipmunks I think.
  I spent some time trying to loosen the thich crust in the front flower 
bed.
We had mulched with leaves last fall, as we usually do, but I guess it was
because there had been a heavy snow pack since December, it has formed
a thick, brittle crust.  I've never seen it like that before. When I break 
it up
with my fingers, there is plenty of green life beneath, but no shoots coming
through.  Even hefty things like Hellebores were not making it.  
  My Artemisia 'Powis Castle', which is not reliably hardy, seems alive, as 
does the Ruta graveolens.  I cut them back pretty sharply, for they had been
very lush last year.  Here's hoping they survive.  I have already ordered 
more
plants from Bluestone, not expecting anything to survive the bitter winter, 
but
there will always be space for more.
  I know there will be more cold weather, but it's good to have a break.  
We 
are just about dried out in the downstairs apartment after two separate
floods.  We have had floods before - maybe every seven or eight years - but
never two in one season.  What a winter!
  Here's hoping the rest of you are enjoying a touch of spring, too.
APL

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