My Garden Notebook - March 2012

It is March 1, and I am documenting the developments in my garden every month on the first of the month.


I have spent a lot of time lamenting the non-winter we have had, even beseeching Old Man Winter with a letter. Although there are officially a few weeks left in winter, I do not think I would welcome Old Man Winter after March 15. With the advent of blooms and sprouts, my garden is whispering a call to behold the display regardless of time and to tend to its needs.

I will miss not having a true winter this year. If the weather had been more consistent with temperatures only varying 20 or so degrees, it would have been easier to embrace the early spring. However, the temperatures seemed to be unpredictable, and I was unable to feel settled on any one particular seasonal path.

It is odd to me now as I think back on those days when I loathed winter that I am now yearning for that encapsulation and that solitude that winter often provides. I had relaxed into it, embraced it, looked forward to it. It is a season that offered me and the garden rest and replenishment. This year, that season did not arrive. I am left to wonder why and if I and the garden will fare well as the year progresses without having our winter. And yet, I know, that everything happens for a reason even if I may not understand what that reason is.

Stats

Gardening Zone: 7a
February High Temperature: 100 degrees F
February Low Temperature: 18 degrees F

Precipitation: 3.73 inches

Wildlife

I participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count earlier in February. What birds did you see in the garden? These are my counts:

Turkey Vulture - 3
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 2
Mourning Dove - 5
Great Horned Owl - 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 2
Blue Jay - 4
Carolina Chickadee - 2
Tufted Titmouse - 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 2
Carolina Wren - 5
American Robin - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 1
Song Sparrow - 1
Dark-eyed Junco - 7
Northern Cardinal - 2
Common Grackle - 5
House Finch - 5
American Goldfinch - 11
House Sparrow - 3

American Goldfinches

 
I sat out in the early morning when many of the birds are active.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

I finally was able to get a glimpse of the owls, but they were too far away and moved too quickly for me to get some photos. I have seen two Pileated Woodpeckers in the woods beyond our property, and I have not been able to get a photo of them...yet.

Blooms, Sprouts, Yield

Most of my daffodils are blooming throughout the garden beds. A few buds remain to keep the blooms going for a while.

The blackberry lilies (Belamcanda chinensis) have come through the soil. This is my first experience with blackberry lilies. The seeds were given to me by a fellow Master Gardener. I will be watching these with curiosity and wonder to see how they behave throughout the growing season.

The hydrangeas continue budding despite some of the cold temperatures at night. And the hellebore are blooming.

Other plants in the garden have heard the call of spring and have begun their spring growth.

Gelsemium sempervirens - Carolina Jasmine

Cornus florida - Pink Dogwood

Knock-out Rose

Yarrow

There is a lot of budding and plants breaking through the soil. The long view does not show all that activity. I see the daffodil buds...

The sedum ground cover is transitioning to green from brown in some areas of this bed.

The vegetable garden continues to yield cold weather crops in these milder temperatures.  I set out the tarps to dry from the morning dew during the day after covering the vegetables on cold nights.

I found these roasting pans with clear covers in a store clearance bin. 

They are perfect for indoor seed starting. I planted some snowpeas, and they have sprouted. 

I open the cover in the morning and spray the soil or the seedlings with water, and place the cover over them at night to keep the warmth inside--as a mini-greenhouse.

The broccoli has begun to flower because of the warm temperatures. I snipped these heads for harvesting. They are still good to eat. I have cauliflower and cabbage heads developing in the garden.

These took a bit longer to develop than the broccoli, but I am thrilled to see them. We are still eating lettuce, kale, napa cabbage, and mustard greens.

Completed Garden Chores

Pruned Raspberry Bush
Sowed snowpea seeds (variety: Avalanche) indoors

Garden Chores for March

Trim liriope
Test soil

Weed garden beds
Spread lime
Spread compost

Observations

I have seen more signs of vole activity near the birdfeeders, and I have been diligently working to prevent them from damaging any young trees. I stuffed the entrance holes with small sharp granite chips and castor oil pellets. It has been two weeks since I did this and things seem to be improving. There has been no new activity or any activity in the existing holes. Later, I will clean this up and cover the area with soil, keeping the granite chips in the holes. Besides deterring the voles, it improves drainage on the slope.

Product Reviews

I bought these two squirrel-proof feeders early this year, and they are not completely squirrel-proof. The squirrels often visit this one (Metal Haven Bird Feeder) in the mornings or evenings attempting to nibble as much from the tray as possible. Although they do not really eat very much, they have knocked it down a few times. Luckily, the top is very secure and food does not escape, but food does escape from the feeding holes when it falls.

And this feeder (Vista Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder) has a pressure sensitive perch, but they find a way around that by gripping the side hardware. They have also knocked this one off of the branch a couple of times which empties it of all the food.

Here, a squirrel is waiting and looking before he jumps...

and the jump...

These crafty critters are incredibly intelligent, and although their intelligence can be frustrating at times, I am often brought to laughter. I may need to invest in a squirrel-proof pole to keep them from the feeders altogether.

What is in your Garden Notebook for March?

I will be linking this post to the following blogs:

Angela from Bumble Lush hosts Best and Worst of My Garden. This month my birdfeeder problems as well as the strange garden weather offer my worst, and for me, the budding and blooming hellebore and daffodils offer my best. Visit her to see what other gardeners offer as their best and worst in the garden this month.

Helen of The Patient Gardener hosts End of Month View. This monthly meme is where garden bloggers share their garden views for the end of the month.

Also, Town Mouse Country Mouse hosts First Views. This monthly meme offers an opportunity for garden bloggers to share their garden first views for the month.


Christine and Barbie of the The Gardening Blog host a monthly meme Garden Bloggers Harvest Day that features the harvest of gardeners.

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Earth Day Celebration Coming in April

I am planning to have the second annual Earth Day Reading Project blog meme to celebrate Earth Day 2012 beginning on April 1. The Earth Day Reading Project is a month long blog meme where bloggers are asked to share what books inspired them to live more sustainably and post it to the meme. Because there are some bloggers who participated last year and already shared what books inspired them to live more sustainably, I will add another category that will allow them to continue to participate. I will be doing things a bit differently this year to make it easier to participate and refer back to the books mentioned in the meme. All the books from last year's Earth Day Reading Project are listed here.

© copyright 2012 Michelle A. Potter