It has been a disappointing month for working outside. Part of this has to do with a heavy bridge schedule but mostly to do with the inclement weather. Still, the last few days were good for working outside. A beautiful sunny and warm day on Friday. I ate my lunch under the umbrella in the front courtyard and made my decision I would work out in the front during the afternoon. I broke out a new pair of gloves and the new pruners, both ordered from Gardeners' Supply, using my reward money. It was time to start cutting back the skullcaps. I also trimmed the ficus on the entry gate. I moved a couple of plants from the garage although they will be going back in there this week as temperatures in the low twenties are predicted. We have had too much cold weather this year. I'm beginning to get concerned about how I will protect the plants in the greenhouse while I am gone. I may have to move some of them into the house.

Saturday afternoon was Garden a Go Go at Daphne's house. She needed help with her back garden, which currently is just grass. We had a good turnout and celebrated her little dog's birthday! Afterwards I went along to It's About Thyme. There, I was fortunate enough to meet the owner who gave me a wonderful tour of his greenhouse, showing me how he grows from both seed and cuttings. I was really impressed with the set up. The long tables have a heat mat which circulates warm water through micro tubing. Overhead, a misting system which comes on every few minutes for a few seconds. This all made by the owner. They were also potting up bare root strawberries in another greenhouse and I bought a bag of their potting soil which looked wonderful.

Today, sunny and warm and I will work outside before going to the airpot to pick up David.

Today I was really disappointed to wake up and find cloudy skies and a cold wind blowing from the North West. It wasn't going to be much of a day to do any gardening. Tonight the temperature will dip down below freezing again. I put the heater on in the greenhouse and will plan to cover things again tonight.
I am glad that I managed to spend a couple of hours in the garden yesterday. I cut back all the Salvia leucantha stalks behind the pool, mainly so that I could pull out all the false carrot plants that had germinated.
The rain has brought on a flush of germination. Bluebonnet seeds in thick clumps and weeds too. I'm going to have to move a few of them around.
Tonight I will get stuck into the Burpee seed catalogue and select the seeds which I will buy with the gift certificate Andrew gave me for my birthday.
David has left for his fishing trip to Argentina and I will head to Phoenix for a few days. It looks as thought he weather will be fine there.

Days of rain and cold until yesterday. I finally went out to work in the garden wearing a vest, sweater and jacket. I began by tidying up in the English garden, cutting back the dead stems of the Philippine violet. I can't leave all the pruning until March, there is just too much to do. I also removed two Indian hawthornes which looked as though they were in a decline. I'm sure the yaupon holly will be relieved to spread out. I trimmed some of its lanky branches and prepared the area for another yaupon. After lunch I went to HD and bought a 1gallon replacement which I planted. I also planted several bluebonnet seedlings.

I see the turkeys have been out back, leaving their footprints and droppings all along the granite pathway.

Bluebonnet seedlings are germinating by the tens out there but not on the septic field where I would like to see them. I will try to transplant some of them into more appropriate places.

Today I did more cutting back and pulling out. Too many Mexican marigold mints. I love them but...

Austin had a couple of beautiful days Thursday and Friday, but I had committed to playing in the bridge tournament at the Doubletree hotel. So, that's where I was for 2 days. Today, despite all the pollen in the air I worked outside for a couple of hours. I decided that, in view of the promised cold front this next week, I would remove the two small A. desmettiana from the Spanish oak garden. I potted them up in a large container and put them in the greenhouse. I began pulling out chickweed in the sunken garden. It spreads further and further every year! Then I tackled the poppies growing between the pavers in the vegetable garden. I transplanted a few and hope that we will get the promised rain tonight.

The parcel from Gardeners' Supply arrived yesterday. I am disappointed with the new garden shoes. They are just a little too small. I may have to cut out the toes as people used to do with their childrens' shoes when I was a girl. One good reason not to buy mail order shoes.

Must look for the heater tomorrow. I think we are going to need it this week. Added some apple peelings to the trap. Maybe our rabbit will be tempted!

I managed to snatch a quick hour or two in the garden this morning before rushing off to my bridge game. I moved some annuals. The newly planted bed in the front garden will need a bid of cheering up this spring, so I moved some poppies, larkspur, coreopsis and columbine. Watered it and now I have to pray that the promised cold spell for next week isn't quite as cold as promised. I cut back the straggly blackfoot daisies. They are always the first to start flowering and then it's impossible to cut them back. Who would cut off a flower..not I. Also cut back the lantana outside the front gate. I think it has had long enough out there. Need something new to replace it.

I am noticing that there are very few bluebonnets this year. Those that germinated after the fall rain in Sept. succumbed to the dry months that followed. Trust nature will take care of her own. Must make sure the heater is not packed away in the trailer. I think the greenhouse is going to need it.

THE RETURN

After an absence of nearly a month of travel I got back to gardening in ernest today. It was a chilly start to the day which kept me indoors for the earlier part of the day. I ventured into the greenhouse where I potted an amaryllis bulb which I rescued from the sale table at Home Depot, for $2:50. I doubt it will come to much but at least I am giving it a chance. I also purchased two clematis corms which I also potted. In the afternoon, the sun now having reached the front of the house, I took my fork and continued working on the bed at the back of the raised bed. Last November David removed the two crape myrtle which had become rather overgrown, and had not performed well for a couple for years. There was little left in the beds save the American beautyberry, which I left. I disentangled a day lily from a Texas sage. I am sure it will do better with less competition. There were three Texas sage plants growing in the bed. I removed them, added some amendments to the soil and replanted one. I also added two other Texas sage which had been left by the folks at Gardeners' Supply, after the filming in the fall. I can take as much pleasure in an afternoon of this kind of work as from planting pretty flowers. I plan to add some columbine, poppies and larkspur along the back of the wall. In front some artemisia and other low growing perennials. I will replace the irrigation line with drips and mulch the area. This should make maintenance easier.