On March 28th, even after this very long winter that seemed it would never end and before the snow was gone from the entire back yard, the first flower of the year has arrived. It is a Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) that I planted so many years ago that had to spend 10 minutes searching it out on the 'net before I could name it. Some years, the Snow Drops (Galanthus sp.) are first. But this year their location is still buried under a frozen pile of dirty snow. For me, it is a point of honor to be sure that there is something in bloom continuously from the time the first blossom appears until as late in the fall as possible. I think there will be crocuses soon to take the place of the aconite, and the tulips are close in a few places
As the snow melts this year I can see that there has been plenty of activity underneath it even though we couldn't see it. The vole damage is huge this year. A trip out to the gazebo for a closer look revealed that they had completely consumed the bottom foot of the stems of the alpine clematis that has been growing there for many years. I had to cut the whole plant down for the first time since it was put in. I have faith that it will regrow from below ground, but this will surely be a setback.
Not so for the first pasque flower that we ever planted, just below the clematis. Someone, probably the voles, completely consumed that entire plant, roots and all. There is just a hole where the plant had been. I've counted on the pasque to be one of the early bloomers. Good thing that is has been so dependable that it has reseeded itself in many locations throughout the yard. I will not be without any pasque flowers, but I will miss that first one - a gift many years ago from friends Paul and Jude.
Today we cut back the apple trees, took the tops off of the dried grasses from last summer, pruned the spirea that wasn't covered with snow. We also bought a small plastic covered greenhouse to keep early purchases and starts warm. We assembed it on the deck. I've put a high/low thermometer inside to see how cold it gets overnight. It certainly gets warm in the day - 85 degrees within a half hour of closing it up, even though the temperature outside was only in the high thirties.
As the snow melts this year I can see that there has been plenty of activity underneath it even though we couldn't see it. The vole damage is huge this year. A trip out to the gazebo for a closer look revealed that they had completely consumed the bottom foot of the stems of the alpine clematis that has been growing there for many years. I had to cut the whole plant down for the first time since it was put in. I have faith that it will regrow from below ground, but this will surely be a setback.
Not so for the first pasque flower that we ever planted, just below the clematis. Someone, probably the voles, completely consumed that entire plant, roots and all. There is just a hole where the plant had been. I've counted on the pasque to be one of the early bloomers. Good thing that is has been so dependable that it has reseeded itself in many locations throughout the yard. I will not be without any pasque flowers, but I will miss that first one - a gift many years ago from friends Paul and Jude.
Today we cut back the apple trees, took the tops off of the dried grasses from last summer, pruned the spirea that wasn't covered with snow. We also bought a small plastic covered greenhouse to keep early purchases and starts warm. We assembed it on the deck. I've put a high/low thermometer inside to see how cold it gets overnight. It certainly gets warm in the day - 85 degrees within a half hour of closing it up, even though the temperature outside was only in the high thirties.
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