What's Up Today

A second day of work kind work got Client #1's garden all cut back and ready for a fresh load of expensive double ground hardwood mulch. I came home with sacks of free woodchip mulch from the tree trimmer's dumping ground down by the river for the roadside vegetable garden.

I like free better. I even like woodchip mulch better because it is less uniform in texture and not nearly as likely to form a compacted mat over the top of the soil. One more load of woodchips and the vegetable garden will be mulched for the season and ready to go.



It was a pleasant afternoon and I was home early enough to go for a stroll and check out the bulb action in the ridge top garden. I found the first crocus. Hmmm? Seems a tad early. These are the only ones I found. The daffodils seem to be on track. They are coming up as they should, but not in any great numbers yet. We have been having plenty of below freezing nights still. That is keeping the ground on the cold side even without snow.



The snowdrops are blooming away. At this rate they will be done soon. Down at my place the snowdrops are just waking up. I think that new USDA Plant Climate Zone map may have Ku'ulei 'Aina and Bonnie Brae's zones reversed. I'm more the 6a than the 6b. I am much more on the cold north facing slope of Hebo mountain. That makes a big difference in when things wake up.



Surprise! There are some new Iris reticulata in bloom that were planted in the old pile of mulch at the end of the driveway last fall. Sometimes Bulbarella is forced to get creative when looking for places to plant newly ordered bulbs. I have kind of noticed that new bulbs tend to bloom sooner than established bulbs of the same kind. The other Iris reticulata in the garden have only broken the surface.



I think we are on track for an early spring if this keeps up. Nothing I can do about it. As long as there is no late killer cold spell after things are really awake, I can even live with this kind of winter that wasn't.