End of February -

It has been a chilly winter for us here in the Pacific NW. I think we are about a month behind whatever-passes-for-normal - the crocuses are only now fully blooming.


In one of our brief moments of sunshine, I took a very quick tour of the yard (which I miss terribly and currently only 'visit' from my studio window) with the camera to see what might be blooming in its neglected state... This is my new-last-year male, sea buckthorn bush - which is bulging with buds. Hopefully the female will bloom as profusely (although currently her buds are much more demure... It's hard to tell). The berries are so tiny, you need a lot of them to amount to much.


During my walk around the neighborhood today, I also spotted lots of lavender heather, a few miniature daffodils, some early blooming ornamental cherry trees, a bit of forsythia showing, and even a pink rhody, full out. The willows have tiny, chartreuse leaves emerging. And the pussywillow catkins are fuzzily gracing their branch tips.


Back in my yard, some of the winter lettuces are still showing - the red leaf lettuce looking like cabbage roses. Speaking of roses, a couple of months ago, I had scheduled some time with a gardening friend to come over at the end of February to advise me on some fruit-tree pruning (new trees - I haven't had that much experience in shaping them and needed moral support!). It was glorious to be out in the garden - the first time in months! We pruned the fruit trees, the grapes, the raspberries and the roses. Things are budding so much I didn't dare leave it any longer, although I could scarcely afford the time.

I miss my gardens...