Sunday, March 28, 2010

An Act of Faith

Another March weekend began without rain! This was a colder weekend than last, but Saturday was very sunny and dry, and I did have more pea seeds to plant, so I braved the cool temperatures and spent the afternoon cleaning out 2 more boxes. Again, I had help. Bill came out and re-strung the string on the second pea pole, and Shelby came out and laid wherever I was trying to dig. While I strive to aerate the soil, he works at compacting it. He' s not quite the gardener that Jackson was, but he does try! We managed to get 2 more beds cleaned out and re-enforced with leaf mold compost and manure compost. I finished planting the remaining spinach in the first box, which I hope will give me spinach from the end of April until the end of May. I also planted the second half of the Sugar Snap peas in the second box. Around the second planting of peas, I planted 2 varieties of Mesclun - Sweet Salad Mix and Early mix. I should be able to start harvesting some salad greens by the end of April. Finally, because I was able to clear the third box on Saturday, I planted the Sugar Bon Snap peas on Sunday. These are bush peas, growing only to about 18-24 inches so I planted them thickly so they would support themselves as they grow. As I was cleaning up and preparing to come inside this morning, it occurred to me that this was really an act of faith. I mean, it was SO COLD this morning, and damp - so much rain in the air - this can't possibly be the appropriate time to plant anything. And none of the seeds I planted last week have even peeked their little heads up yet...clearly it is just too cold....and yet, I still planted all my spring seeds. Yep, an act of faith!

I love the early spring. Although most of the landscape still looks brown and dead, and the temperatures can still be so very cold, there are signs that yet another spring is just around the corner. Each year, the Bleeding Hearts come back bigger and bigger. These guys were planted within the first year or 2 that we lived here, and they have been moved all around the yard, but every season, without fail, they show up.

Another of my favorite early spring surprises are the Helebores. This year, I was worried that the heavy winter snows had been too much for them. They usually begin to bloom in February, and this year, when I went to look for them, there was no sign of life. But here we are in March and suddenly, they are back and in full bloom.



An act of faith...maybe it is time to have planted the peas!!

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