I may have gotten carried away

I grow many of my own plants; its fun to purchase seeds for plants that are not readily available in the commercial nurseries.  I also save and plant seeds from my own garden.  I start them in repurposed containers--we save food containers all year long--and use fine compost from my own compost heap for the starter soil.   Growing my own garden annuals is not only fun, but frugal too.

When I planted three germination trays with assorted veggies and flowers, it didn't seem that I had planted all that many seeds.  I was certainly wrong! 

The only window in my house suitable for seedlings is in my kitchen.  While the plant nursery is open, we give up our kitchen table to the baby seedlings.  This year, the plant nursery has gotten totally out of hand. 

I'm not finished moving the seedlings to individual pots but we have already outgrown the kitchen table.  I've moved the bigger plants out on the deck.  They are under the bench where they have some protection from sun, wind, and hard rain. So far, they seem happy to be there.  Of course, when (not if) we get more extremely chilly nights, they will have to come back inside.  I have no idea where I will put them.

But it is still winter

I've been very busy in my backyard over the last few weeks.  The temperatures have been rising and the perennials are peaking through the mulch.  I've been dividing and transplanting them into new locations.  The spring garden has germinated and will soon be ready for thinning.  And I've been cleaning up the fall and winter debris in anticipation of spring planting.

It has all been quite delightful but winter is not over yet here in central Alabama!  A cold front has descended from the frozen northland, bringing with it cold rain and the forecast of a hard freeze for the next two nights.

So, the cold frame needed to be watered thoroughly and closed up tight and my budding satsuma tree needed one more trip back into the garage.  The outdoor plants will not be happy but since they are well mulched and watered, they will survive.

Even though it is still winter, spring is coming . . .

Twas the last day of February and all through my yard . . .

Lenten rose

Loropetulum

Crocus and happy tortoise

February has been a busy month in my backyard.  I've been mulching, prepping gardens, planting the spring vegetable garden and starting germination trays.  We've been carefully watching the shrubbery that struggled through the drought for signs of life and transplanting perennials that have outgrown their current homes.  All these projects have kept me quite busy but none of them are photo worthy or of any interest for a blog post.

Purple oxalis and variegated artemesia

But now that February is almost gone, I decided to take my camera out to record what is blooming in my backyard.  I was amazed at how much is happening in my gardens.  Here are a few of the treasures I discovered.

Grape hyacinth

Tea olive

Phlox

Sweet baby James

Just a little confused

Is it winter?  Or perhaps we are experiencing an early spring?  Did winter really come to central Alabama?  I'm not sure, and neither are the plants in my garden.  As I stroll through the garden, I see spring perennials beginning to bud and bloom, and late spring perennials are already peaking through the mulch.

One of my hosta is seriously confused.  It has unfurled its first stem nearly three months early!  Poor baby will probably not survive the hard frost forecast for tomorrow night. 

Gardening in my Alabama backyard is always an adventure.

Pam, we have orchids!

Several years ago, my good friend and gardening inspiration, Pam, brought me a collection of propagations from her gardens in North Carolina.  Among them was a tiny little sprig from one of her orchids.

I am horrible at growing orchids, probably I try too hard.  Because it was a gift from a dear friend, I determined that I was NOT going to kill this one.  I've carefully neglected its care; keeping it outside during the summer months, only fertilizing it in the winter when it was indoors, and transplanting it a couple of times as it grew. 

The poor little plant has endured much at my hands.  It has been pulled out of its pot by children and critters, once it fell off a pedestal which shattered its container.  It was probably on the ground for several days before I noticed it and repotted it once again.

When I brought it in for the winter last month, I noticed it had some funny bumps on one of the stems.  It took me a couple of days to realize that those four lumpy things were buds (you can sigh loudly here, Pam).

The buds opened this week; they are shockingly pink, the perfect flower for dreary winter days!

Thank you, Pam.  I love you!

Still hanging on

January satsumas

Back in October, I wrote about my off-season satsumas.  The tree did not produce fruit in the spring as it should have, but bloomed in September and set three little oranges in early October.

Not knowing, whether these fruits could actually mature, I have been carefully bringing the tree into the garage any time the temperature approaches freezing.  (The tree itself can withstand temperatures in the mid-twenties.)

October satsumas

Here we are in January, all three little oranges are still firmly attached, and growing.  I still don't know if they will ripen but it sure is fun to see oranges on the satsuma tree during the "dead" of winter.

January blooming

One of the best reasons for gardening in the south is that there is always something in bloom, even in January. 

I admit that finding something blooming in my backyard was a little challenging this week.  I found a little wax begonia tucked up against the garage that is hanging on, and a diamond frost cutting in the cold frame that is blooming up a storm, but neither of them is growing in the ground and you could argue that those blooms don't count toward my claim of year-round blooming.

However, I discovered that my first year lavender is beginning to bloom.  My photos are abysmal but perhaps you can just imagine the dainty flowers with the huge fragrance.

Indoors, the exotic bromeliads bloomed a little late this year.  Normally, it blooms before Christmas but these blooms are just perfect for a gloomy January day.

Happy New Year from my backyard to yours!