It is that Time of Year Again

My kids and I were outside today meandering around the yard and just generally enjoying the good weather and my wife pointed to something in the yard.  I got so excited I could hardly contain myself.  Any of you crazy, or maybe just garden crazy people, know what I am talking about, right?  You know the time of year when you get your first flower of the spring and then you start practically digging to find the next one.  Well, I have to admit there were lots of them this week.  We got a nice snow and then warm weather and that usually equals, crocus. 

I know it is not much, but there are signs of life which means I can start dreaming about planting, seeding, and ordering.  I have already been bugging my wife about heading to the store to buy seeds, because, it is only a few short weeks before the potatoes, lettuce, radishes, and carrots can be planted.  It doesn't seem right but it is true.  My grandma always starts her garden before St. Patrick's Day, which is only a month away.

So all of you fellow crazies, you better get there before I do, because I may buy the store out of seeds.  My faithful stack was seriously diminished last year when I decided that I wouldn't allow my self to buy any more seed until I had eliminated some very old ones that were in the back of the stash.  So after said purging and withholding, I am now in high gear.  My local garden center typically has seeds for half off at this time of year, but a word to the wise, read the packages and see how much you are getting for the sale.  Sometimes it is cheaper to get the package that wasn't on sale because it contains more seeds. 

It is fine, I realize how ridiculous I sound, but there are few thing that get me excited like spring.  It is the time to start over, fix the mistakes of last year, and see what the work you did will produce.  And just in general get your hands dirty again.  Yes, you may have frozen fingertips and numb knuckles, but at least you are out there doing things. 

Pottery

When you live in Colorado, you have to appreciate when you can plant anything you want.  Much of what I plant is determined by our lovely clay soils.  Yes, I know there are some things that are great about clay soils but digging in it, is not my favorite thing.  I long to be able to plant things that are just nice to look at or remind me of where I grew up.  Pots are my way of planting things just for fun.

I love pots, there I said it.  It really isn't that hard for me to say in reality.  In fact if you are around me for long, you will find I begin to brag on my pots.  Yes it is true, I think I am slightly addicted to them.  In case you are wanting some of your own, now is the time to buy them.  In the middle of winter, usually I can buy them for half price.  I like them because they are year round eye candy, or at least the kind I buy are.
There are some limitations, yes.  When you are shopping for pots, you have to think about how often you would like to water, what size of plants do you want, what is your weather like and what are your preferences.  In order, here are my suggestions.  I do not like to water very often, so I tend to say bigger is better. This also allows me to plant whatever plants I want, big or small.  I also live in a semi-arid, desert-like, area where we get very little moisture and it gets quite hot.  So I tend to look for glazed pottery with lighter colors.  The darker the colors, the hotter your plants and more distressed they get during the hottest part of the day.  The glazing also prevents moisture loss as well.  The biggest thing for me to look for is a drainage hole, if they don't have one and I can't drill one, I don't buy the pot.  I do have standards, even if the bar is rather low.  And like I said the bigger the better.
My wife limits my intake of pots to one or two a year, but every once in a while, I add more. We often joke that if and when we move, we will need a truck just for my pots.  Some are expensive some are not, but I always have my eyes open for unusual ones.  Right now I am starting the countdown to when I can start planting them.  These pots get filled with a mixture of annuals and perennials.  Some of the plants make it through the cold dry winters but some don't.  No worries. 
One way of saving some when planting in these big pots is to fill the bottom third to half with empty bottles, you know the ones that go in your recycle bin.  Then fill the rest with soil.  It makes the pots lighter, keeps drainage working, and provides much needed air in the soil. 
So my biggest suggestion is: have fun.  Try a new color or size or shape.  I just got two pots for half off at our local nursery that are orange and green.  Now the question is what to fill them with in the spring.  Until then I am wishing you all, happy potting.

The Lake just got a little Deeper

Well, as is tradition for Mother's Day weekend, we spent the weekend with my in-laws at the lake.  This is the annual kickoff for camping.  We spend a few days pretending that it is warm enough to venture into the mountains and getting just close enough to feel like we are there.  I swear you never know what kind of weather we will get.  Many times we get sunburns, quickly followed by an evening of frostbite in our tent.  This year with the new little man, we did not want to be left out, but like I said, it is difficult to take a newborn camping when the temperatures dip below freezing.

The wife's aunt allowed us to "camp out" in the extra bedroom they have which is only about a 10 minute drive from the lake.  Definitely worth the trip to have just a little bit of sleep.  The big kids slept in the bunk beds in Grandma's camper.  We returned this morning, with better sleep and bearing gifts of Starbucks, in case others didn't sleep.

All around, definitely a great trip.  The kids' 2 yr old cousin was there and this was the first time there has been another kid to play with and annoy.  One of the uncles brought his boat and the kids pretty much thought that was the best thing...ever.  I mean besides, candy and the oreo meals they get to have when no one is watching.  Roma is a boat driving machine and Liam, the eternal perfectionist, didn't think he was doing it right.

I was glad that we decided to go up, and also glad we skipped the tent camping, since there was definitely frost this morning.  The kids always spend half of the time creating some sort of mud waterfall, so the kids always come back with a trash bag full of wet clothes and snow boots.  Hey, we live in CO, there is little rain, and a lot more snow, so we make do with what we have. 

Bragging Rights

Well, now that we have been in our current house for about 5 years, I feel like the garden is starting to get somewhere other than needing work.  Don't get me wrong, there is always work to be done in the garden but, I feel like there are not as many bare spots.  When we moved in, the yard was great, but the gardens were almost non-existent.  There were a few shrubs and overgrown lilacs, but not much in terms of gardening.  Any monkey with a few simple tools can plant that.  It takes time, patience, care, and most unfortunately, money.

I am going to blame the latter for the time it has taken to get the garden where it is today.  Everyone with money can go out and buy a ton of plants, my problem has been the lack thereof.  So my investment in the garden has been the countless books and seed packets bought.  I read and find out the best plants that work the best here in Colorado, which compared to Kansas where I grew up might as well be on another planet.

The plants here are beautiful in an understated way.  But they are tough, they have to be able to handle the less-than-awesome clay soils, the almost constant drought conditions, the scorching sunlight and the giant temperature swings.  Other than that, any plant that lives must then live through the constant trampling from kids and animals.
  

The flower in the photo is one of my favorite, easy, hand-sown plants, the Oriental Poppy.  It is a perennial that I planted the seeds for two years ago.  The first year they were pretty when they bloomed.  Now, by the second year they are about 8" across and amazing.  They last a couple of days but are a great addition to any garden.

Actually, I must confess that have a flower fetish this year.  I just can't get enough poppies.  There are so many different varieties.  There are the stand-by California poppies that will sprout and grow anywhere there is sun and the tiniest little bit of moisture to get them started.  These are annuals but they often self-sow which is key for the lazy gardener that I am.  You can also get these in the ginormous seed packets which is also key for those of you letting your small children help.  Let's just say that not everything makes it into the allotted locations.  I am also trying the opium poppies this year which are technically illegal but I just think they are pretty.  I will keep you updated on how it goes.

There are, I am sure, hundreds more varieties and ones that will do great wherever you live.  I am always surprised at the things that grow and the things that don't.  I plan to continue to try the gamut of different flowers.  Until next time, happy experimenting...

Preparing for the Signs of Life

As we sit here counting down the days until our third child is born, I am thinking that there is nothing like anticipation to get you excited about the things to come.  I saw a few of the tops of the crocuses starting to poke out of the ground, reminding me that days of flowers and digging are just around the corner.  The lettuce seeds are chosen and mixed, but the ground is too frozen.  I can only declare that I will not be planting any radishes.  Other than that all other possibilities are open.  There is unlimited space in the garden and no seasons have passed yet.

This is the time to continue drooling over your seed catalogs.  I would also recommend visiting your gardening stores.  There is no better time to check out the good deals and not deal with those annoying people who only want to buy red geraniums.   You know the ones I am talking about.  Go and see the cool pots, typically they have some serious deals around this time of year.  They are as desperate to see you as you are to feel like you are accomplishing something outside. You can also peruse the seed aisles before they are picked over. 

We have had a few days of warm weather lately and the snow is slowly retreating.  Underneath the layers of brown snow lay the secrets that you have been waiting for, hoping would show up.  After your plotting and planting, those tiny little seedlings, that will fill the bald spots in your garden.  They are still too small to tell which ones are coming up, but I just keep repeating to myself; only a few more months. 

My anticipation is killing me.  I am waiting for a baby, waiting for spring, waiting for the warmer weather, and waiting for this headache to go away.  But for now, I will eat my ice cream and enjoy a little quiet before the noise of kids and summer fill my life once again. 

Christmas In January

So I was sitting on my couch this week when Mindy asked me to go get the mail.  I got up and trudged through the melting snow, and opened the mailbox.  And what to my wondering eyes should appear but my joy and eight tiny seed catalogs.  I know it probably wasn't what you were thinking..but at this time of the year a person who gardens is mainly stuck dreaming about next year. 

And so now I am the one riding the bus and reading my glossy magazine, only mine are filled with possibilities for next year's garden.  By the end of the winter, my poor gardening books and magazines have had a major work out.  Flipping back and forth between the pages trying to eek out every idea and ounce of genius.  What can I find this year that is new and exciting?  What have I been trying to find forever?  What reminds me of growing up on the farm? 

I think that this year, although I will have to throw in some exciting new things, I am going back to the basics.  Sometimes there are reasons that we have those "old reliables".  You know what I am talking about...that old t-shirt, pants, or underwear that you should have thrown away a very long time ago, but they are comfy and there is something about knowing what you are going to get.  There is no guesswork, just memories.  Sometimes I get so drawn up in my ideas for what things I can find that some soccer mom down the street won't have, that I lose track of the main results: beauty and produce. 

Like I said before, there is no way that I can resist my shiny new red tomato or purple potato, but I am reading my magazines this year looking for something more reliable.  I will still brag about the new things that work and try to hide the ones that don't (hopefully there aren't too many of those).  I will also relish in picking things that produce, but for now I will just enjoy looking at my pretty pictures. 

Bulb, Glorious Bulbs

I know we are entering that crazy time in CO where it is still the heat of the summer but fall jumps out every night.  It reminds us that just around the corner is one of the busiest times for gardeners.  Fall is my second favorite times of year.  It is the time for preparation and planning.  We all know that it is time to purge the garden of all of those dead annuals that pile up, but we sometimes forget that now is the time to go to the garden centers, or Costco if there is one close and stock up on BULBS.  

There I said it, they are not sexy right now or trendy or fun to plant since there is not immediate satisfaction but trust me you will not regret them.  No one will know you planted them until... Next spring when your neighbor's garden still looks like Armageddon and yours looks like a story book, you will thank me.  Bulbs are those poor creatures that everyone forgets about, because they are more focused on what they are taking out of the garden than what they can put in it at this time of year.  Please please please take pity on these amazing plants, they give quite a show for not much of your time.

So the question now becomes what to plant, and the options are virtually unlimited.  Some of my favorites are (in no particular order): tulips, anemones, alliums, daffodils, crocus, and hyacinths.  This year marks the first anemones to hit the CO garden.  I used to plant them in KS with mixed results but from what I have heard and seen from my fellow gardeners here.  They are great in our horrible hot dry, with cold nights climate.  So here it goes, well maybe not just yet but by the time that September rolls around, I will be ready.  

September and October mark the best times of year to plant fall bulbs here.  So get your kids and round up any neighbors you can find, maybe really good friends will help to and get to planting.  My kids love to help plant bulbs for some reason, and as long as they understand which end is up they can help.  Or in my case follow one of them around righting the bulbs that are upside down.  Plant as many as you can afford or stand to plant.  You will not regret it.  So get out there, find, plant and enjoy those bulbs.