This week in the garden...: 03-23-2013 temperature see-saw


Bearded iris given to me several years ago by my sister-in-law Connie Shertz. Doing better every passing year.

The last few days have seen major temperature changes from hot to cold and, last Saturday, while we were out of town, a strong storm tore a couple of huge limbs off the maple located between us and our neighbors. Fortunately for us, they had not parked their van in the driveway as they usually do. This saved us major insurance headache,

Some of those temp changes can have drastic impact on the Spring garden: the high heat we had for a few days sent my last escaroles and lettuce heads into seed production. This is good for nature but not for those of us who expect fresh produce for dinner. With global warming, transitions between seasons have become a little harder to figure out with any luck.

On the other hand, tomatoes, beans and corn are in the ground and kind of relish a more subdued sunlight.


These little yellow flowers promise some great cherry tomatoes in another 9 weeks (Remember: gardening is based on a lot of patience; we're always waiting for something happening in six months or two years. Impatient abstain!)

The house and paths are slowly disappearing behind fast growing foliage and blooms.

Here, the Chicago fig tree is quickly hiding our sitting area.

Good time of the year for transplants. I have moved some Canna lilies to the back fence and started raising some sunflowers to fill in the gaps. I can't imagine Summer without tons of those sunflowers in all shapes and colors satisfying bees, birds, butterflies and myself. The first roses have started appearing left and right and bamboo shoots are growing so fast you can almost hear them.

You can see why it's called a "Bearded Iris."

Big fan of ferns; they remind me of Summer camp.

green face is showing up. Was, actually, today is too cold.

Can't wait for this one to open all the way!

I received those English Blue bells several years ago from Karen Tharrington whose mother had brought them over from England. They look much better this year than they did last year.