Willow

Under the lights in the basement, I've got a jar of water rooting pussywillow and redtwig dogwood. In the kitchen window, cuttings from a weeping willow have been given the same treatment.



All of these will be planted where water is still flowing from neighboring parcels into the gully. Already sopping wet, more rain is in the forecast today. Flash flood watches were issued last night for our area. Heavy rain and possibly thunderstorms will pass through sometime after noon. Behind it, a cold front will bring cooler temperatures including a few nights of freezing weather.

After a couple years of drought, it's hard to complain about rain. Unfortunately, it's coming at the wrong time of the year. The ground is already soggy. Unless the forecast changes, it will be weeks before I can get out and actually dig in the soil.

This afternoon, I need to water all of my indoor plants again. Some of the pineapple sage decided to curl up and turn crispy overnight. I need to pot some of the rooted cuttings in the cloner, and take more pineapple sage cuttings from the remaining plants. I do want a lot of this wonderful fall bloomer this year. I plan to put a little everywhere.

It's 43 degrees. The high today should reach 60. Overnight, the temperature in the house fell from 71 degrees to 67. I woke up sweating.

Back to my roots

In the basement, the plants in the cloner don't know that it's the dead of winter. The brug cuttings, lantana, and even a couple of Carla's roses are pushing out new root growth.



One lantana is about to bloom.



Something funky came back with the roses from Carla's former house. I've treated the entire cloner with Spectracide to kill whatever it is. Another day and I will need to clean it out, resticking the cuttings that haven't rooted and potting up those that have.



The willow and redtwig dogwood are showing actual roots too.



Outside, it's sunny and 21 degrees. The hoophouse stands at 29. The 10 day forecast is nearly unbelievable after the past two weeks. My wintersown containers will be sprouting green in two weeks if this holds true. By mid February, the green tide will be rolling across the yard. Daffodils might even break the surface.



More firewood to haul into the basement today. Work this evening. The lull appears to be wearing thin.

5:17pm - Been at work for 4 hours. Having "lunch". It's 45 degrees. The hoophouse is at 53. Can't wait for Friday.

Sunday Morning

It's a beautiful day already. Large puffy clouds are rolling by. The wind is picking up a bit, but that should help dry out the soaked ground. We got a lot of rain in the past 4 days. But today should be mostly sunny and 70. It's already 61 degrees.

I had my second cup of coffee in the yard. I wasn't able to stop myself from doing a few things as I walked around. I pulled more nutgrass from the front bed. This stuff is going to be the death of me for sure. I spread the sheet over the hoophouse and rolled the plastic cover back. After many days without sun, the tomatoes and sprouting seeds will need a little protection. I took cuttings of the three lantana plants I bought on Friday and stuck them in the cloner. I also stuck some more pineapple sage. It roots so easily, I can't help myself.

The half price fern whose pot was smashed when it arrived at the store was transferred to a terra cotta container for the front porch. I'll move the small indoor ficus outside in a few more days to keep it company. I need to get a new coconut fiber shell for the hanging basket I plan to put up there too. Not sure what will go in it just yet, but there will be some flowers and some trailing annuals on the short list. Maybe red verbena if I can find it.

Today is a great day for starting seeds according to Farmer's Almanac. I'll sow the rest of my veggies and put them in the hoophouse. I'm done with starting seeds indoors with the temperatures remaining above freezing for the next 10 days.

I also plan to work on the front slope. I need to transfer about 200 plugs of periwinkle now that the ground is soft enough to work. I've got my batteries charged and the auger is ready to go.

This evening, I'll finish the drawings for the new project. I had hoped to do some work on that today, but scheduling conflicts between me and the subcontractor doesn't allow it. So, I'll be heading to Charlotte on Monday and spend most of the evening working on the model. It's due no later than Monday, April 6. That gives me a week. It's a much less intensive model than the previous one. I'll have plenty of time.

I'll update later with some pictures. It is Sunday after all. I want to record all the beds today now that we have some sunlight. The grass needs to be mowed too, but that can wait until another day. It'll be too wet to do more than beat the blades back to the ground.

If anyone needs me, I'll be in the yard.

12:05pm - 64 and very windy. Not a cloud in the sky.

Let's see, what have I done? I got the hill planted with 200+ plugs of periwinkle.



I moved all the rocks that were around the oak in the front yard to the white bed border. I want to let the periwinkle do what it wants.



I planted out 9 pussywillow cuttings that were rooted in January. The giant whites went down into the gully. The red, black, and coral embers went along the top edge of the wall that lines the gully. In between this summer, I plan to sow sunflower seeds and hope to keep the squirrels and birds out of the garden.

I found the Stargazer from last week. It's about 6" tall today. It has a tiny friend coming up behind it.



The purple queen is coming back around the oak tree. It should grow into a huge mass this year.



I also planted my datura inoxia next to the basement door. It should smell really nice this year since I use that door more than any other coming and going.

And then I checked the wintersown containers. Lots of progress.



Dogwood seedlings


baby hostas


Unknown daylilies, probably from Stella D'Oro.


A baby white crape myrtle. It's been this size for two weeks now.


Black gum, dogwoods, rose of sharon, and mock orange seedlings.


Cherry Laurel seedlings. Originally, I had planned to use these to create the living hedge at the edge of the driveway. Instead, I will use them in the gully. The birds love the seeds and they will sucker if pruned too hard. I need to pot these individually, but with frost coming tonight, I think I'll wait.


That's all I had planned for today. I would like to plant out some more wintersown containers, but most of what I see looks really tender after 5 days without sunlight. I'm going to wait. I need to run to Lowe's to pick up a couple bales of straw for the tomato bed. With the hoophouse being way too full these days, I can use the bales and a couple of old windows to make a cold frame. I'll only need it for the next two nights, I hope.

As I said in the comments, the sunset last night was amazing. I was laying on the sofa watching tv when the living room got really bright. I had to walk outside and then went to grab my camera. The colors are a little washed out in the photos, but there were just that many colors as the sun began to go down below the horizon.

Snow Day

It's 21 degrees and sunny. There's a light dusting of snow on the ground. It started last night around 10pm. I don't plan on venturing outside until the temperature is at least above freezing. That should be around 1pm. So here's a shot from the front steps.



See, not a lot of snow. Today I plan to clean the house. I never realized how much dust I could stir up just by painting. I've got some things that need to be moved into larger containers on the propagation rack. And there are some willow cuttings that are going to start wrapping roots around me in the dark if I don't get them potted.

12:44pm - Most of the "snow" has melted. It's 28 degrees and windy. I need to chop some firewood for the next few days. I got the willow transplanted from water into cups. I have four kinds: red, black, giant white, and coral embers.

Wintersowing, dividing, and packaging

It's 37 and cloudy, again. Sunday's picture will be taken Monday. I can't deal with any more cloudy pictures in the weekly lineup.

I spent the morning wintersowing some more seeds. I also divided a clump of echinacea that germinated last spring. It was one of three plants I got from nearly 1000 seeds. I direct sowed them and promptly covered them with mulch. I now realize that was a mistake. I also packaged up 4 sets of plants for trades I have been a part of. I received the willow cuttings yesterday. I'm testing a few of them in the aerochamber in the basement. I put their ends directly in the water. The others I placed in a glass on the kitchen windowsill. I want to see which ones root the quickest. I think I already know the answer to that.

This afternoon, I've got to work on my business website. I need to figure out what to do for dinner. And I need to bake the loaf of sourdough bread that's been in the oven rising since I finished my first cup of coffee this morning.