Six on Saturday – 02/03/2019 – Three Weeks ’til Spring!

Chris Mousseau

Right? Right?? Just three weeks away? Sure! We had almost twice as much snow as usual in February, and there’s no real melting in sight for the next two weeks. South of us, in the U.S., a huge storm is working its way from west to east, dumping even more snow in many places.

As much as I love the snow and ice and crisp temperatures, I’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty again. I’m also looking forward to being inspired next weekend at Canada Blooms – the annual spring flower and garden festival in Toronto, as well as the Quinte Home and Lifestyle Show, in Belleville the first weekend in April.

For now, I get my gardening fix by looking at pictures from far away (many via a link on The Propagator’s site, where the SOS craze is hosted) and by seed starting. Here’s six things happening in, or about, my garden today.

Large lima bean sized seeds from the Pawpaw tree
1 – Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) seeds from a grower a few hundred km west. Pawpaw is all the rage these days, even called ‘The hipster banana.’ Not native this far north and east, we’ll see if it survives. The seeds arrived pre-stratified but will take a few months to germinate after planting, and it will be five or six years before any fruit is produced.

2 – Critter holes. in the snow Likely rabbits burrowing to get to their nests. So. Many. Rabbits. Never a coyote when you need one.

  • Butternut
  • Lilac
  • Magnolia
  • Forsythia

3 – Buds. Wishful thinking perhaps, but I choose to believe these shrub and tree buds are expanding.

Hollyhock leaves, small, nestled in the detritus of last years's plats, waiting for warmer temps to grow again
4 – Very hardy hollyhock leaves, still green throughout winter in a protected spot where the snow has melted. Waiting…waiting…
a pot of mini daffodils in bloom
5 – The only thing in bloom around here are indoors, in pots, like these mini daffs. I never buy potted tulips because they pretty much do themselves in blooming after being forced. Daffs, on the other hand (as well as Crocus and Muscari and, to a lesser extent, Hyacinth), I find will bloom for many years in the garden if treated right. That means keeping them watered and fertilized after they bloom indoors, hardening them off then planting outside in May.
A scenic shot of my front yard - a large snow covered field, with animal tracks in the snow. A sunny shot with blue sky.
6 – Finally – more footsteps in the snow. It was quite lovely yesterday, and the late afternoon sun cast wonderful shadows. I think these are coyote tracks. Sadly, they’re not pursuing rabbits…

18 Comments

  1. I love bud-watching too. We were covered in snow this time last year, so I have every sympathy for you waiting for spring. Enjoy the peace and beauty of snow, though.

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  3. Buds are interesting to observe as they develop. It’s surprising how quickly they grow with a bit of sun and warmth.

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  4. I have always wanted to grow Asimina (pawpaw). A Twitter friend grew it in Vermont and had fruit for the first year. I have to find a self-fertile plant( Sunflower, Georgia, Prima 1216) because we don’t have one in France. Must order a plant
    Great pictures of buds!

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  5. We share the white landscape, on practically opposite ends of this continent. I’m feeling pretty patient still. In three weeks we all will be ready for spring and appreciate it! Your photos of buds are fun.

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    1. Some would say I’m too old for such patience. But Pawpaw saplings are hard to come by here and quite expensive when available. If I’m going to experiment with hardiness/zone pushing I might as well start from seed. Wish me luck!

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  9. Paw paw is all the rage! That is excellent! When I wanted to grow them a few years ago, no one had heard of them. They are not native anywhere near here of course. I was annoyed that so many of the native North American fruits were being ignored while acai berry was being made into a fad. That was about the time that I started cooking with out native blue elderberry as if it were a black elderberry (like others are familiar with). Fads bother me, but a fad like paw paw is much more tolerable.

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