April 14th, Part 2

Even though I feel this is really a partial picking, one blossom at a time, it still counts.  Right?

April 14th, 2008

This is the day of the partial picking of the hyacinth.  Photos to follow soon. 

People like trees

and sumac even.

It is spring break, a really welcome one. But there is something to be said for the lace work of bare branches. Granted, it's usually against a pervasive concrete sky, but still...
I was out on a ride to gather more of something for pre-planting prep work; (worm poop, pots, bulbs, pea gravel, it's endless really), and I couldn't help but feel I needed to document the bareness. It's stark and bleak and I'll be so happy to see some color soon, but the silhouettes were really getting to me.

I did tromp around in the muck and found a few breaks in the beige (taupe?) of the back yard.

If I knew how to add those cute arrows I'd have them pointing to the green pointy bits poking out of the leaf litter. Those are some purple hyacinths I found half-dead and on sale at the big box last June and threw them in. It really shouldn't surprise me that it's the throwaways that seem to make it more than the pricey, tastefully considered ones. But it does.

I'm not all that crazy about hyacinths, but they've become a harbinger, or a bone of contention, depending on my mood.
Somebody planted a large white(?) hyacinth in the front of the house, right by the sidewalk. It's always the first thing up, and I know it's really spring when it disappears.
It always gets picked right before its color blooms. Every year. I should note the date and place bets, like people in Alaska watching the ice breaks.
So rather than bemoan the pitfalls of urban gardening, I will pick my own purple ones under lock and key, and savor the scent, and probably decide I'm not all that crazy about hyacinths.

One more harbinger to be...


My first water barrel is ice free. Not the prettiest, but think of the joy one can have manipulating the water cycle for fun and profit.

I bought it through a city program ($40-ish) last fall and now that our porch is re-built, the best contractor in the world put the finishing touches on a once-straight gutter for me, and thar she blows!
I hooked up the soaker hose at the top because it was already full, but judging by the other spout and the spigot I'll have many watering options this summer. For free!
Here's the link: http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalContentItemAction.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@0530326553.1207261639@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccdadedkefkjgdcefecelldffhdfgk.0&contentOID=536925773&contenTypeName=COC_EDITORIAL&topChannelName=Dept&channelId=0&entityName=Environment&deptMainCategoryOID=-536887205&blockName=Environment%2FRecycling%2FI+Want+To

Spring

and all that entails.  Yes, that red blur is a cardinal and yes, that white stuff is snow.  Pretty sure it's officially spring, but the signs are few and far between.

Here's a close up of one sure bet, the Hamamelis.  I honestly can't remember the variety, but this is its second spring and these blossoms started showing mid-February both years. 

I love the scent as well.  It's a lot like Fruit Loops, without any dusty cardboard.  It's not as fragrant as last year, which I'm chalking up to a frigid February.   

No, there really isn't any sign of spring in this picture.  It's just documenting the river birch we planted last fall and my hopes for it to bud, leaf out, and eventually screen most of the view into and out of the back yard.  

Of beans and Irish snakes

These things have something to do with each other according to an old Chicago adage I can't quite remember. I know it has something to do with St. Patrick's Day and when to plant your beans. This is what most of my gardening knowledge sounds like, muddled directives involving plants I don't use.
I am truly thankful for the internet.
And so I think it's getting to be that time. This year is the first in a while I am going to start seeds and lay off the garden center binges. It's never really worked out that well in the past, but I'm going to try again anyway.
Even though many people much more experienced than myself don't recommend it, I'm planning on starting seeds in some old pop bottles in the enclosed back porch. No lights, no heating pads.
There's a lot of east light though, and the windows are very new and very sound. Somewhere in the anthology of old gardening chestnuts there's got to be a hint that this is ok, and if it isn't then I'm only out a few seeds. Right?
I plan on starting most seeds this Friday, it being Good and a day off, but I'm still missing some seeds that I ordered online back in early February. I don't think I'll be ordering from them again, but I might just buy replacements (if I can find them) at the garden center.
I waver between worries of too late and too early, but I think mid-March will be fine. I should just take a page from my Dad's gardening book and throw a few seeds/ bulbs in sheltered pots in March, then come back from Florida in late May and see what made it. Most do, even the tomatoes.
Speaking of tomatoes, I ordered some heirlooms from the esteemed JL Hudson, (see earlier post). They're going to have to go in pots with barbed wire around them (urban squirrels are serious tomato connoisseurs), but I'll try anything to have my share.

Another grand plan for this season is to really try to improve the soil quality. Back in November I went on another field trip to a soil workshop hosted by the Chicago Park District. It was presented by Mike Flynn from Green Quest, ("committed to sustainable cycles of transformation"), and he showed us some easy ways to compost/help the soil.
I'll post again later with all the details, but I'll end this with his email:
mikethewormguy@aol.com.