The Soil is Always Warmer in Other People's Gardens

Here in Atlantic Canada, we’re getting whomped by the traditional St Patrick’s Day snowstorm and the landscape is still very much white and brown and grey… At least there’s one sweet thing about March in our climate — the sap is starting to run, and the maple sugar / syrup season has begun! Yummm!

So I’ve been enjoying a lazy morning, taking the chance to read about gardens that are a little more advanced toward spring. Here, for the other vicarious gardeners in the crowd, are two American neighbours whose virtual gardening exploits I’ve been very much enjoying lately:

Compost Bin (New Jersey)

In Six Gardening Lies, Anthony writes:

I’m going out to the garden, I’ll be back in a minute
I’ll just water these plants and then I’ll be right in. Maybe a little weeding too. Hmm, these vines needs a trellis, I think I have some extra wood in the garage…

What’s your self-delusion (or excuse to non-gardening spouse)?

Granny Gruber’s Garden (Indiana)

In Tater Planting Time, Steven Wilson writes:

Here in Indiana it is almost tater planting time again. The old farmers always plant taters on Good Friday… Potatoes are considered to be cool-season plants and can be planted just as soon as the ground has thawed and dried enough to safely work the soil.

Potato planting time may be still a couple of months away for me, but Steven does a great summary of tips for planting, growing, harvesting and storing potatoes.

(By the way, did you know that potatoes are so packed with nutritional goodness, they can sustain human life with nothing more to eat than a little cheese or yogurt on the side? See Plants that changed the world: Potato…)

The snow has changed to ice pellets now, so it’s time for me to rush outdoors and blow all the snow out of the driveway so we have a hope of getting out on the road in the next day or so.

No doubt the snow is heavy, and the snowblower will huff and puff and labour to squeeze snow out of the shoot like toothpaste (and straight onto what’s showing of my long-suffering forsythia) rather than drifting it merrily across the landscape…

Ah, well, Spring is coming… there’s more garden sites to discover when I return… and did I mention maple syrup!?