No Winter Whining: Part 3: Hey Mr. Dudley, Is It Spring Yet?

At the old house on the other side of town where we lived for 18 years, Mr. Dudley lived behind us. An old wooden six-foot privacy fence separated our yards. A retired schoolteacher, he is also an avid gardener who over the years we came to think of as our herald of Spring. We knew that Spring was surely on her way mid-February when the large panels of aluminum insulation were removed from the wide patio doors and we could see the morning sun warming the yogurt containers on the dining room table. Soon we would see the tops of his tomatoes poking out of the recycled yogurt containers; we knew then that Spring was surely on her way.

We’d watch over the long weeks as the tomatoes grew stronger and taller. In time they were strong enough to placed out on the patio to be hardened off. Our hearts lightened for we knew that soon we would be planting our own garden. Mr. Dudley is also a generous man for he graciously shared his tomatoes sets with us. We are on our own now here at the Garden Spot. None of our neighbors garden, nor are they close enough for us to watch how they garden if they did. So we look for other signs. Yes, even in February.

 Beating the Winter Blues: : Plan a garden.

We took a class at the Ft. Collins Nursery yesterday: How to grow killer tomatoes. The speaker, Don Eversall, shared his gardening secrets that he had learned years ago from his grandmother who gardened on a Nebraska farm. The guy was amazing. At 75 he wrote his first book: Secrets From My Grandmother’s Garden after he sold his two seed companies. He has really great ideas on soil amendment, watering, and feeding a garden. We bought his book and will certainly try his ideas, which I will be sharing over the coming months. We also bought another book on companion planting: Tomatoes Love Carrots. Hubby will return to the nursery in a couple of weeks to take a class on drip irrigation.

In addition to the books, I bought a new watering can. Isn’t it awesome? I love the copper handle and pour spout. My old one sprung a leak on the bottom. I love metal watering cans. They are so Sun Bonnet Sue-ish.

Afternoon Tea

I finished my day at daughter Jen’s where she prepared afternoon tea for us (her daughters, her sister and a friend and her son). I took her a handful of red tulips. Now they don’t yell SPRING like nothing else will?  Her friend brought a pretty bouquet of spring flowers, too.

Jen set a lovely table with the help of her daughters. I love the little gazebo. She had her own look in mind, but Elinore decided to add her touch, annoying mother. But I thought the metal fairy garden furniture that El brought in the from her outdoor fairy garden made a nice touch, giving the table scape another dimension. I am not sure that I convinced mom, but she let Eliie’s addition stay.

A lovely table scape including a fairy door.

Always the little helper, Lucy set the spoons and napkins. 

Pretty dishes and pretty food.

A pretty little helper

And really awesome strawberries.

Hubby was out watering again today. I joined him for bit as he watered the berries. Here is the first harbinger of Spring. 

Hubby asked what it meant to see a bee the first part of February? 

I don’t think that a winter bee is a particularly good omen. Not for the bee if we have another cold spell, and certainly not good for the garden if we don’t get any more moisture. We agreed that the little bee must be a sign of an early spring. Good luck little bee.

It’s nice out today. The snow is slowly melting away, and we hope for more soon. Punxsutawney Phil has predicted an early spring, and it seems that the First Bee of Spring  agrees.

Talk about winter whining.

 

 The hens are whiners, begging the head gardener to let them out. They do love to scratch and peck in the dirt.

 

And look at what Henny Penny scratched up: a spot of green. Baby Iris waiting Spring's warm rays to wake her.

I am linking up with Heather at Life's a Garden where the is no Winter Whining.

Hope you all have a fabulous week.