Gertrude's Flower Garden Weekly Diary

1/10/03 - Snow returned this week (it looks as though the predictions of a snowy winter may prove true) so that there was no outside work in the garden. I did notice in one of the containers on the terrace that I had planted with Daffodil bulbs that green stalks were pushing near the surface. A nosey squirrel digging into the container had uncovered the growing Daffodil stems. Squirrels are always sure, when they find freshly turned soil, that there is something edible buried there. Fortunately, Daffodils are poisonous to squirrels and, therefore, they don't bother them. I suppose that I should thank this particular squirrel for alerting me to the fact that my Daffodil bulbs are sending up their spring growth in the containers just as they are in the flower beds. Of course, the hard freezes ahead will prevent them from pushing up too fast, but it is nice to see this early promise of spring.
My plant growing operation in the basement is progressing nicely. The original planting of Begonias (you will remember that I had a damping-off problem) is now off the warming pad and under one of the shop lights. Actually, it looks as though I am going to get a reasonable number of seedlings to transplant, but I did plant another container of the Wings Begonias. These are still on the warming pad and have germinated. I also moved the white and yellow Star Zinnias off the warming pad; they are well advanced and will be the first of this year's seedlings to be transplanted in a few weeks. The last seeds that I planted were Impatiens; these have not germnated yet, but they should be up during the coming week. I will probably plant Love-in-the-Mist and Dahlberg dasies next.
The last snow was what I call a "wet" snow: great for making snowmen and snowballs. It is also the kind of snow that clings to tree branches and bushes. This can be destructive as well as dangerous. The huge power outages that occurred recently in the mid-South were the result of snow laden tree branches breaking and bringing down power lines. This kind of snow can also do damage to your shrubbery in the garden by breaking limbs due to its weight. Sometimes, it is wise to shake the snow off the limbs of brittle shrubs such as Azaleas, although you must be careful not to do more damage than good--I find that an ordinary kitchen broom works well. But, in spite of all of the problems that it can create, this "wet" snow can also be very beautiful as this week's picture shows. Nature has decorated the oaks and other trees and shrubs around my home more beautifully than any human hand could do--I suppose we must accept the inconvenience and enjoy the beauty that she brings us.

ntgates@worldnet.att.net