The Rain Is Moving In.

It's 43 degrees and cloudy. The 10 day forecast is nice in terms of temperatures, but 5 days of rain are coming. Hopefully, there will only be periods of rain each day instead of the steady rains we had last week.



A walk around the yard this morning revealed some new growth.

Wintersown cupid's dart are getting large. This one is about 5" tall. It was planted out in early February.



Wintersown Virginia Stock has a tiny bloom. These can bloom early and should reseed nicely.



Direct sown poppy clumps are growing too. I wish I had scattered the seeds wider. I could move them, but I'm told poppies don't like to be disturbed due to their deep tap root.



The lettuce and cabbage are putting out new growth too. These are about a week behind those we sell at the store. I hope to harvest before the temperatures are too warm in May.



Hostas are popping up all over in the azalea bed. I forgot where and how many I planted. They're also just starting to push through the mulch on the north side of the house. After the rain, they should really take off.



Last year I bought an endless summer Hydrangea on clearance. It was in really bad shape. I planted it and it's returning now. I moved it this weekend to the north side of the house. Less sunlight should be better for it.



Some mock orange sticks I pushed into the ground in January have new growth on them. Have they rooted? I don't know. We'll see how they do over the summer.



A clearance rack weigela is putting out new leaves too. This one should have pink flowers. I think it is Pink Poppet.



The Golden Jubilee Anise Hyssop is about 6" tall now. I spread lots of seeds around this area last fall. I also wintersowed a container that has sprouted.



And the redtips I bought at Wal-Mart for $3.50 each are showing their colors. I want to move these, but I think I will wait til Fall. They need more sun than they'll get here.



It's really chilly out this morning. Yesterday's high of 55 was cooler than forecast. Today won't be much better. I spread a little fertilizer on the veggies. I really want to get away from using chemical fertilizers in the garden, but my compost isn't ready and these are new beds. In the fall, I'll plant alfalfa in this area and till them in next spring. That is, after I enlarge and terrace the areas a little better for more plants next summer.

I really wish I could figure out this digital camera. I'm using low light settings and still getting blurry photos. The flash doesn't do much to help and only washes out the true colors. So I apologize for the blurry pictures. Maybe I'll just blame it on the coffee.