NEW BEGINNINGS

Ah, the promise of Spring and New Beginnings. We discovered Fred's purple thistle in the garden today, it starts out as a beautiful circular plant and by August has risen into a tall flowering super giant! The same with the Concord grapes, the vines are beginning to leaf and from these tiny buds emerge the tastiest fruit.

BAMBUSA!

The bamboo shoots have arrived on this cold, blustery April day. They are so small, we usually feel them first with our feet before we see them. Now we must be careful where we walk if we want them to grow tall and become part of the grove.

MORNING RAIN AND MANY SURPRISES!

There were many Spring surprises in the early morning garden, the magnolia has bloomed, tiny buds are appearing on the peach tree, the peonies and red onions are peaking through, and the young lettuces are ready for salad making tonight.

BAMBOO HARVEST

We have started to thin out the older bamboo now that the new young shoots are starting to peek through. It is quite labor intensive, they must be cut with a handsaw and the sharp stumps pounded back into the ground with a mallet. After the long stalks have dried for a week, the sharp branches are removed and set aside (The thin branches make terrific wreaths and decorations). The thickest bamboo will be used for gates, fences and obelisks.

SPRING SNOW

The light dusting of spring snow that we have received in the last few nights has been pretty to wake up to. The buds on the peach tree are almost ready to open, and the cherry tree will be right behind it. The pansy faces are frosty and quite warm in their bamboo-lined pots. .

WHAT I BOUGHT AT THE FLOWER SHOW

Ancient Egypt used this plant as a writing material and for boats, mattresses, mats, rope, sandals, and baskets. It is Papyrus and it was for sale at the Philadelphia Flower Show, it is a bog plant and in the warmer weather, I will transplant it out by the pond, quite a find! My second plant purchase was an aromatic, scented geranium in nutmeg already flowering. We stood in line at the seed store and made some unusual purchases which you don't usually find in catalogues. Gardeners in line are extremely patient and love to offer tips on their growing successes, so it was an informational wait.

PARIS AT THE INTERNATIONAL PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW

I had been waiting forever to take this trip with long ago coworkers and garden lovers to the Philadelphia Flower Show. I had not been to the flower show for several years and was wowed when the doors opened -- there was the Eiffel Tower and it was evening in Paris!
This show is so large, you really need 3 days just to see everything, so we tried not to waste any of the time that we had on lectures, even though we did go to the "Making a Rain Barrel and Mosquito Control". We were on the move, the Paris Underground (Catacombs) was quite unusual and interesting, the Biedermeier arrangements in the Austrian parlor quite colorful, opulent and gorgeous, but the bedroom with the canopy bed complete with rose duvet was spectacular!

INDOOR GARDENING

Who could resist those adorable Bonsai plants on a cold winter day! They give a jump start to Spring and brighten up the indoor scene. The elephant ear bulbs were also in and it is good to stock up on them before they sell out in April. Marie chose a Sago Palm Bonsai and Chris chose a Ponytail Bonsai and several bulbs. Marie is taking hers back to Brooklyn on the train.

STARTING HERBS

It is never too early to start herbs indoors. I have thyme and basil in containers and have just started catnip seeds this weekend. It won't be too long before we can get outside and start getting the ground ready!