Boots n' Bathrobe

It is April 3.  Thanks to a heavy overnight rain the ice-cap receded significantly from my garden.  And so it called me for my first early morning boots n' bathrobe inspection of Season 2015.  It wasn't a plant by plant clipboard tour.  That will come later.   So many have not emerged,  were very wet and brown, or were still covered in snow.  But oh, there is hope!  And it started my day on a euphoric note.  Even the spring birds migrating "home" sounded happy to see me.

I had such good intentions of continuing my blog over the winter months and devoting my posts to favorite gardeners or gardening books.  But holidays, housecleaning, appointments, guests, family events, work and play all overtook my schedule.  Maybe I'll move those intentions forward to winter 2016.

I will highlight one positive from today's early survey.  Blue flax linum rarely survives a winter here, being a tender perennial for zone 5.  But the two plants I put in last summer are literally bursting with healthy, green basal foliage.  Maybe the snow cover and very long winter was just what they needed.

Stay tuned.  The fire has been lit.