| March 1, 2004 Much warmer today. Will try to do some pruning and get some beds cleaned out this weekend. Hoping the worst of winter is over. |
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| March 3, 2004 Beautiful day. Several clumps of daffodils blooming, as well as viola 'Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow', several varieties of crocus, and the last of the camelia japonica. |
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| March 5, 2004 Last warm day for a while, according to the forecast. Cleaned out all beds surrounding the lawn. Lots of bulbs and perennials waking up. Lots of holes/tunnels (vole vs. chipmunk?) in the street bed and the strawberry beds, despite the lining. Sedum 'Autumn Joy' chewed off as well as several I. germanica. One echinacea 'Magnus' was destroyed last fall, as well as the 'Chickasaw' dwarf crape myrtle. Clematis jackmanii, that I had planted in a pot, looks to be gone, too. From now on, I'll plant only what they won't eat. Some strawberries appear to be gone, but I suppose that could be winter-kill. We'll see. Also mowed the lawn and applied lawn food and crabgrass preventer. |
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| March 6, 2004 Had a little rain last night so the timing was good for putting done lawn treatment. I swear I think the grass is greener already and plants are greening up and look good. Very pleasant but breezy today. Forcast is for cold temperatures returning again next week. |
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| March 7, 2004 Started off as another beautiful day, although rain is predicted for later today with snow on Tuesday. Oh, well, it *is* March. Sprayed peach trees for the first time; a couple of blossom buds showing pink and a few green tips as well. Brought them under the porch roof in case it does rain later. At Lowe's I got yet another Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens), some Lily of the Valley, and a dwarf Burford holly (Ilex cornuta 'Burfordi Nana'). Got some seeds at Wal*Mart: 'Heavenly Blue' and 'Crimson Rambler' morning glory, 'Seashells Mix' and 'Sensation Mixed' cosmos, 'Flora Norton' and 'Royal Family Mix' sweetpea and 'Evening Glory' moonflower. The rain did come, accompanied by high winds and a sudden drop in temperature from mid 60s to mid 40s in about 30 minutes. |
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| March 13, 2004 Got the rest of the flower beds cleaned out. Lots of vole holes and tunneling in the left side of the house bed. I'm sure all of my lilies are gone. Street bed was hit harder than I thought last week; no crocus, snowdrops, or grape hyacinths coming up. I'm sure all of the lilies in that bed are history, too. Dug up the largest Japanese iris from the pond bed. It was really dense and the roots went deep--though I'd never get it up. Gave half away and planted the rest in the street bed. I need to fill in some spaces there and it has more space there to grow. Bought a new dianthus at Lowes: 'Frosty Fire' (Dianthus x allwoodii). Also got 'Blue Lake' pole bean seeds, as well as seeds for 'Giant Imperial' annual larkspur. Received plants I ordered a couple of weeks ago from Grandma's Garden: 5 blue plumbago and 1 each of 6 ferns: Japanese Painted, Southern Sword, Southern Shield, Autumn, Tassle, and Holly. Potted them all up until I decide where to put them. Most old hostas are already sprouting, but all seem to be alive and well. Pruned the dwarf fig to keep branches off of the steps. |
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| March 14, 2004 Just did a careful check and there is still at least one Simplon lily left in the left side of the house bed. Pruned container roses. Dug up 'Heritage' rose and turned it around after a severe pruning. Dug up both blueberries and potted them up. May leave them in the pots--will see what happens. Moved Russian sage 'Little Spire' to the street bed. Dug up crocosmia 'Lucifer' and replanted 4 corms in the same spot. Also planted 3 corms in the street bed. I have a bag full of corms to take to work to share, after giving some to my neighbor and a friend. Broadcast 'Giant Imperial' larkspur and 'Sensation Mix' cosmos in the front porch bed. Did the same with cosmos 'Seashell Mix' in the street bed. Planted sweet pea 'Royal Family Mix' in the morning glory planter. |
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| March 18, 2004 Sprayed peach trees for the second time. 'Stark Sensation' has quite a few blossoms open, with lots more to come, and 'Mina d'Oro' is just beginning to open blooms. Moving pots under porch when rain threatens. |
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| March 20, 2004 First day of Spring--Yippee!!! Sunny and breezy--great day for gardening. Cleaned more leaves out of beds and pruned dead wood. Cleaned leaves and debris out of pond. Will take a few days to get it all out. Tidied up pond plants; Louisiana iris had grown over and taken root in a water lily pot. Dug up and divided aster 'Hella Lacy' and replanted a portion further back in the front porch bed. It gets pretty large and got too big for the area I had it in. Gave part to my neighbor. Dug hosta 'Honey Bells' from the pond bed and potted it up. Shared some of that with my neighbor, too. Pruned camellia sasanquas and the back deck hanging pot ivys. Planted the newest Carolina jasmine on the grape arbor. Potted up the 'Dwarf Burford' holly. John made/installed a trellis on the gutter for clematis 'Silver Moon'. Pruned sweet autumn clematis. Also cleaned out the finished compost bed and turned part of the unfinished, which will be ready really soon--will probably just put it on the beds when it's ready. My neighbor gave me a yellow rose bush that she had rooted from hers. Hybrid tea, I think; planted it in the left side of the house bed. Cut dead stalks from the three container cannas from last year. It's doubtful they're alive, but they felt very sturdy in the pots. Will just have to wait and see. |
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| March 21, 2004 Colder and very windy today. Well, it *is* March. Temperatures are supposed to be in the mid-low 20s tonight so we brought the peach trees into the garage. John can take them out in the daytime and we'll bring them back in until this cold snap is over. Got more leaves, etc. out of the pond. |
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| March 24, 2004 Picked up a few things at Wal-Mart in Christiansburg: Dahlias 'Le Baron' and 'Nuit d'Ete', assorted pastel tuberous begonia bulbs, and assorted colors of phlox paniculata, as well as 'Red Salad Bowl' and 'Green Salad Bowl' lettuce seeds. |
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| March 25, 2004 Very cold--20F. Hydrangeas got bitten. |
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| March 28, 2004 Very warm the last few days. Spring is bustin' out all over. Brought a hydrangea from my mother's that I had rooted by layering last fall. It blooms purple in her sandy soil, and was a pink nursery-grown plant when she bought it years ago. Potted it up and will leave it in the pot until it develops a stronger root system. |
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| March 30, 2004 Raining and much cooler. Bought a dwarf Magnolia soulangeana 'Jane' for a large container. It's supposed to only get 10' tall and already has blossom buds. |
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