So, the calendar says it's spring, big whoop. It's still pretty cold outside and we are not planting our gardens yet. Hopefully we won't have any more nights getting down into the teens as my crocus are blooming and tulips are starting to shoot up now. Since I have a dedicated deer fence now in the front of my house to protect my shrubs, I see tulips coming up in that bed that must have been planted by the previous owner. 

In the three years we have been in our house I never knew there were tulips planted in the front of the house, probably because the deer would chew them off long before they could ever show themselves. But now since I have a sturdy fence up the tulips are finally getting a chance to grow. They probably won't flower this year since they have been weakened by the deer eating them in the past, but this fall I will give them some bone meal to strengthen them up for next spring. It will be interesting to see what color they will be. 

In the meantime, I have been raking all the oak leaves out of my flower and shrub beds. The leaves make a good winter blanket to insulate the ground. I had some cuttings of forsythia, quince and hemlock that I was rooting last fall that I overwintered in their pots under the oak leaves, tucked against the north side of my house. I used the north side so that direct sunlight would not hit the pots and heat them up during the winter. For the best results for overwintering, you want the roots to stay frozen once they freeze. It is the constant freezing and thawing of the roots that prevents us from being able to plant large pots, like half whiskey barrels, with perennials or shrubs to have them come back year after year. It can be done, but extra care needs to be taken and it is not easy. 

That being said, I have two boxwood bushes that are in extra-large structural foam planters at my house that were left by the previous owner, because of their size and weight. I'm not a fan of boxwood but they looked healthy, so they stayed. These planters are made of a structural foam material that is both strong and insulative. I was surprised after the first winter that there was no dieback or other issues with the boxwood, they thrive in these pots. I searched the internet to see if I could find these pots, maybe to bring them into the store, but at least to get a couple more for me, but all I could find were planters half the size and they were well over three hundred dollars apiece. So, no pots for me, I will just enjoy the two boxwoods just the way they are.

Spring cleanup around my yard seems to be becoming a weekly task as every storm brings down more and more branches. With the burn ban in effect until May 15th, I now have piles of branches in my backyard just waiting for the time I can start burning in my firepit again. Hopefully the rabbits don't think these piles are permanent and decide to take up residence in them, because once the burn ban is lifted, they are going. By that time the garden should be in full swing, and I will be able to use the ash from the firepit to sweeten and enrich my garden soil. There is always so much to do in a short period of time once spring really gets here and not just on the calendar.