I Wanted to Believe

After the last quick cold snap, I had hopes that was the end of what was a very mild winter.  It turns out, February was the end of spring!  March is coming in like the lion they say it does, and this one is out for blood.  The first week was warm, but so very windy, and brought a fierce storm.  I've experienced some drastic drops in temperature both in Missouri and Texas, but I think yesterday's may have been the record for me.  In a matter of twelve hours, the temperature dropped from a balmy 70 degrees down to a freezing 30.  Now, look what this coming week has in store:

Last year, I planted a little magnolia, and I was watching this spring for a promising show of lovely magenta blossoms.  I figured I was going to have to cover it during the upcoming freezing nights, but it would be worth it.  Yesterday morning when I checked on it, eleven flower buds had been nipped off by deer.  There are now only four at the bottom.  I guess that would have required dropping one's head too low for comfort.  Grrrrrrrrrrr.  I know they nip off hyacinths, lilies and early roses, but I never even thought about them eating those magnolia buds.  Next spring, Deer B Gone is going on as soon as the buds swell.  I guess I don't have to cover it now.

There will still be hyacinths, peonies, bleeding hearts, roses and rhubarb to cover if the temperature doesn't come up.  I want to believe again, though.  Anyone know a sun dance?

After the wind blew away my cypress needle mulch twice, I started to wonder if maybe I had left any grass clippings under the ex-cattle shed that I hadn't bagged and brought up to the house, so I went to check it out, and indeed I had.  Plenty.  But the clippings are curly and tangled, so they didn't spread well.  I put them out on my seeded beds anyway.  (Update:  I just checked.  The grass is gone, too.  I give.  It can stay bare.)

I'm getting anxious about my flower seedlings in the cellar.  After an initial fine showing by the black dahlias and ornamental oregano, nobody else seems to want to come up.  Not even the mixed dahlias I got from the same seller as the black dahlias.  If they're going to do anything, they need to hurry up, as I need room to get my herbs started, and then I'm going to need space for tomatoes and peppers.  I'm telling myself this will only be an issue this year, as most of the flowers I'm trying to grow are perennials, and my idea with the dahlias is that I'll bring the tubers from this year's plants in for the winter and not plant any more seed.  I sometimes have ideas that don't pan out.  And then I have to do something else.  

So....not much gardening going on this week, but here's a marvelous gardening video that my Wisconsin sister pointed out to me.  It's the best I've ever seen.  Enjoy, and do that sun dance.