This photo is recording the emergence of fritillaria meleagris, a bulb that should be in every Homer garden. If you have a friend with a good size clutch of these truly lovely bulbs ask for a handful right now and get them in the ground. From then on they will tend themselves. They self seed and the bulbs multiply, creating a lovely splash of color.  Keep on the lookout for their blooms in front of The Bookstore.  They are also known as Checkered Lily or Snake’s Head. The lovely thing about using botanical Latin is that we are all talking about the same plant, the common names are so widely varied that they become confusing. We can all be talking about the same plant, using different names, and getting no where fast.  I can almost take a walk around the garden, there is still punchy snow to contend with but I am only somewhat deterred. I actually started raking in the West Garden, up to the snow line. This bed is under a larch and the leaf drop is thick which has su...

This morning, having taken a bit of walk around the garden, as much as the snow and ice allowed, I was delighted to find the beginnings of crocus, muscari and rhubarb. Why not celebrate what March has to offer? Especially now that it’s almost over.   This afternoon, after a lovely albeit breezy day, the snow graced us once again with huge, wet, heavy flakes. And then the sun broke through, the birds resumed singing, and we are reminded of why we choose to live here.   Let’s not fight our environment. Let’s make the most of it. Let’s grow food that will nourish us and that actually wants to grow here so we don’t have to do backflips to harvest a crop.  Yes, a little greenhouse will do wonders for your state of mind. There is nothing like growing your own tomatoes, basil, cucumbers and green beans. But keep it small, just how many of any of these plants do you need? And how much time do you want to spend in a greenhouse? Gardening under plastic is not my idea of gardeni...

The tiny spindly tomato starts under lights in the guest room have achieved true leaves. That is the indicator to move them to larger pots.   I’ll bury their little fragile stems right up to the new leaves. Roots will develop along the stem. Keep in mind that tomatoes are surface feeders, meaning they will ultimately prefer to be planted in a somewhat shallow container. Mine, in the greenhouse, are only eight inches deep by three feet.  I’m hoping that this will be the first and last transplant before they go to their forever home in the greenhouse. If the weather settles by April 1 and we can turn on the heat, they will be moved out there. If not, there are even larger pots at the ready to once again bury their stems up to the leaves and give them more room to develop roots.  Once they go into the greenhouse I’ll lay them on their sides, leaving just a top knot of leaves, covering the stem with the compost that the bins are filled with. This method develops remarkab...

Harris Seeds sent this email: ‘Sunflowers have become Ukraine’s unofficial national flower because of their prolific presence across the Ukrainian countryside. Throughout the country’s history, the sunflower has been a symbol of peace, resilience, and warmth. However, in the last several weeks, the flower has become a symbol of unity and support for Ukrainian people worldwide. Plant sunflowers as a show of solidarity with the Ukrainian people.’ Harris Seeds is offering “Sunflowers for Ukraine”, 100% of online sales will be donated to aid refugee support.  Give this thought. Sunflowers do well here, at least they bloom, but don’t always make a harvest. They have germinated at the base of bird feeders but I suggest you give them a head start. My neighbor has a black house and she planted sunflowers on the east side, the effect was stunning. 

March is not to be trusted, ever. No where in the world is March a good month. So your best bet is to stay the course and get on with starting your seeds.   Which is exactly what I did. They are now up and reaching for the lights in the guest room. Poor things, they look thin, stringy, weak everything you don’t want your seedlings to look like. Which is why I encourage you to buy yours at one of our excellent local nurseries. The reason they look so weak is: I didn’t lower the lights. They need to be right at the top of the soil so the seeds have something to look forward to when they germinate.  I’ll wait for these seedlings to offer a little more leaf before I transplant them into larger containers, in the meantime they will need to make do and I have lowered the lights.  We’re considering shoveling out the door to the greenhouse before this next storm (if there is one) so I can start messing around out there. I want to fluff up the fresh compost that went in the bins l...

So, I told myself (and you) that I would NOT start seeds this early. Not ever again. Here I am ~ four kinds of tomatoes, one artichoke that I don’t even want, broadcast Patterson and Red Wing onions, shallots (Ambition) and got a four pack of lettuce going, all under lights in the guest room. Old habits die hard.   The tomatoes went into generous four packs, one seed per cell. I only need one of each to succeed. Keep in mind that tomatoes are weeds and there is the potential to be overwhelmed with their bounty. Although my neighbor, Karen, was astounded that I didn’t toss them into the freezer to add to sauce as winter ground on. Not only did I do as recommended but I tossed them in a bit of olive oil, a touch of salt, spread them on a sheet pan and roasted them. Oh my. They have been gracing our once a week pizza. Why haven’t I been doing this? Why have I been giving them away? There is no logical answer here so we’ll just let it go. Suffice it to say ~ never more. Next on the lis...