Bad Sign--April 16

This IS a bad sign. We staked out a new vegetable garden about 10 days ago and you see who's made themselves comfortable, right in the center.
This bunny (probably mama bunny) and her progeny, along with the squirrels and chipmunks, ate ravenously last year--not just usual foodstuffs, but even my marigolds. I was hoping this family would find a new home this year. Time to go back to Home Depot for rabbit fencing, as if I thought I could get away without it!

I have had some luck in the past keeping critters away by sprinkling dried blood meal around the targeted plants, but you do need to keep applying it. A cayenne pepper solution can work too, but when it rains, you're back out there. And unless you want your veggies to have a little extra kick, you'll need to do some careful rinsing. But then you'd do that anyway...

The first seedlings--Arugula--April 15

Planted some seeds in the garden about 4 days ago--lettuce blend, arugula, peas, and even a few sacrificial morning glory seeds. Morning glories need warmth, soil above 50 and no cool nights, but the weather's been so nice, I figured, what's the risk? I can plant more if we have a cold snap and these succomb. Arugula is so satisfying. These little seedlings pop up so quickly they're perfect to help me get through my impatience with the others. My family loves the bitter flavor of arugula, even one of my kids. It makes a great salad, topped with some good olive oil and some sliced portabella mushrooms. Arugula's a cool weather crop. I could have actually started it at two weeks earlier. The leaves are best when they're young. It sets seeds and becomes too bitter quickly, so if you want to keep the leaves coming, you can plant another set of seeds 2-3 weeks later.

Dogtooth Violet--April 13

This pretty woodland flower appears from a patch of mottled green and brown leaves in mid-April, only to disappear fully, leaves and all shortly thereafter. Last year I all-but missed its bloom. We did some major work leveling our backyard a good number of years ago and I wasn't sure these flowers would survive it. But I've got a nice little patch of these unusual flowers that come back each spring.

We've dug out a new garden in an unattractive area around the house. Hope to make it look a little nicer. The soil is quite poor there so we dug in some mulch from the mulch pile we keep. Hope we enriched the soil enough. Thinking of putting in some hostas to soften the hard edges there. Maybe some other shade lovers, too.

Bloomin' Bulbs--March 17

Nothing better than a bit of green (and purple and white) on St. Paddy's day. I spotted my first bulbs blooming about a week ago. Now I've got a great reason to walk my yard and check nature's progress.