Halfway There!

Today, February 2nd, marks six more weeks until spring and halfway through winter. I love this day because the longest nights are b ehind and spring is just a step ahead. Our Northwest groundhogs see nothing but rain today and my daily horoscope tells me to create something.  I hope nothing too ambitious, since I want to relax before the big push to sow, plant, weed, prune and water.

This year is the year of the annual.  I am renovating a few garden beds, taking out perennials and shrubs, rearranging a few and planting new ones. It’s major renewal time, with annuals playing a major role filling in the bare spots. While the long-term plants settle into their new life, I’ll plant nicotiana here, sweet pea there, a sunflower, zinnia, and canary vine, where? Cosmos, Irish bells, coleus , violas, and phlox, foxgloves, calendula—my list is getting larger.  I can’t forget the scarlet runner beans to run up the fence or the alien looking ornamental cucumber plants to scramble along the ground.  It’s time to dust off the heat mats, clear some shelves in the greenhouse, and get the soil medium ready to receive my seeds. It’s going to be a fine year for annuals.

And then there are bulbs...