Spring Forward

She finally arrived. I can't complain. For certain the Mags in town won't lose their perfect blooms to frigid temps. I continue to plant as if we will have a spring, but it's hard tell'n. It definitely got to 80 F today. Dare I say I got warm? Naw.

Firsts:
We saw our first cabbage butterflies this weekend.
The Apricot bloomed.
The Plums are just unfurling.
Stray black kitty popped her kittens out yesterday, but we don't know where they are.
We ate kale and spinach.
Breakfast Latkes (see below)
Seedlings being hardened off
K's first night of the year camping in the yard
Chionodoxa are peaking
Grape Hyacinths begin
White Festival hyacinths peak
First Toads & Peepers calling.

Sown:
Carrots, dill, cilantro, fennel, alyssum (last 4 in the orchard, under Plums, for beneficial insects)
In flats, under cold frames: zinnias (orange & cactus), salvia, cotton, castor bean, balsam.

Planted:
Rest of the Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Chinese Kale, Golden Apricot tree, Bonfire Dwarf Peach tree

Purchased:
3 Marmalade hostas, 1 Thai Basil, 1 Italian Basil, Apricot & Peach (above)

Garden Delights:

Finished off the last of the frozen bell peppers from last year in these delicious Breakfast Latkes. These are an easy homegrown recipe once the potatoes are harvested. There is nothing breakfast about them other than when I chose to make & eat them. 

~grate 4 med. potatoes, diced bells, diced onion, parsley, 2 T flour, 3/4 t salt, 1/2 t blk pepper, 1/2 t baking powder, 2 eggs

The first of the seedlings to be hardened off.

Snapdragons, parsley, alyssum, lemon monarda, blanket flower, purple coneflowers, nicotiana

The veg garden. Paths strawed and tomato teepees begun.

Peas- way behind. Just emerging.

Cleaned up where the old raspberry bed was. Turned the soil and made into a semi-keyhole concept. My plan is to grow the winter squashes here. The bees have been very active this weekend.

We cut down and burned all the branches from the deceased Colorado Blue Spruce. The removal completely changed what I can do in this corner. You can kind of make out the contour I am creating. Today I planted a dwarf Apricot and Peach in this soon-to-be new bed or bed extension.

I dug up the hydrangea that had become buried under the Climbing Rose and planted it at this apex. I started placing bricks around this area hoping to create another bed, which will be semi-triangular. 

I'm going to get so much more sun back here with the spruce being gone. Bittersweet. 

View from the front porch.

Apricot opened this weekend.

Scarlet and Gertrude eating wheat grass

Mesclun (front), yarrow (back left), Chinese Kale and Broccoli plants

ready for transplant

Best way to entertain a kid:

#1 Their very own tent in the yard

#2 A frog pond they can play in

Biergarten ready for sun.

Murl- our latest stray

Need to do next:

Transplant tomatoes & begin hardening off everything, plant sunflowers, start squashes in pots, finish tomato teepees, transplant mesclun, more straw on beds, including new keyhole bed.....