Don't Like the Weather? Just Wait!

That's what they say about Colorado. I think the rest of the sentence is something like 5 minutes. There are many areas of the country that use this saying, but in Colorado, we really mean it!

Here we are, all cleaned up and ready to go for another year. I love this Silver Sage. Temperature was in the 70's.

And... here we are a couple of days later.

And...here we are the next day. Back to Spring again!

This part of the area that is under construction in the back.

Yes, there are tulips under here somewhere!

Pasque Flowers a week ago.

And, here they are buried in snow. True to their nature though, they recovered nicely the next day.

Aliums trying to grow through the snow.

The weather has been beautiful, although windy, for the most part since this last snow. But don't count on it staying that way. We still have a couple weeks or so before we are out of the snow danger zone. I've seen it snow a foot or more in late May... we'll see how it goes this year.

And... Another!

Here we go again. Another day of snow and cold. It was a very frosty morning with a beautiful full moon. The average temperature for January is now 28.1 degrees. Colder than usual. I need to get my seeds ordered soon.

To add more room for veggies I'm thinking of moving the large pots to the front and filling them with vegetables.

There was a wonderful article in our local paper the other day about container plants. It was right on subject for me because I'm trying to find more room for veggies this year and have decided to try some large containers placed next to the raised beds. About the only place we have full sun in the back. It gave me some interesting ideas:

Pepper Mini Belle produces a decorative plant.

Lettuce Mini-green Improved produces tennis ball-size heads.

Balconi Red Tomato has an exceptionally sweet taste.

And this sounds nice for shade: Blazin Lime Iresine

Something to think (and dream) about!

Now...this is more like it!

Notice the footprints? The early morning visitor is our resident fox who walks the same route through our property every day. Here he is on his way back. When he first arrives in the morning he has diagonal tracks across the grass.

This is more like a beautiful Colorado winter day! A fresh snow fall last night and dazzling sunshine today. Terribly cold though! I suppose we will get as tired of looking at winter snow pictures as we did coneflowers in the summer??

Careless Neighbors Leave Their Mark

It was an agonizing morning yesterday when we discovered that a truck had jumped the curb and run down the middle of one of our strips. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later, and that's the chance you take when you garden that close to the street. One year we a neighbor slid into some of the upright posts, which thank goodness stopped his forward progress, but it was nothing like this. My heart sunk as I realized that the path was right over most of the new plants I brought back from Santa Fe this fall. After the initial shock I rationalized that perhaps the posts did stop some of the momentum of the truck and since there was already snow on the ground (and lots of mulch) perhaps there was some cushion for the tender plants. A couple Russian Sage were knocked over and will need to be cut back as soon as weather permits. It could have been a lot worse.

Heidi and her owner come to help...

...or maybe not.

Later, a neighbor came forward to tell us that he had lost control of his truck. I had an idea it might have been him. He and some friends live in what I call the "party house." Every weekend they sit out front and party until 3 a.m. and I've had to complain about the noise. When the weather gets colder they stay in their big diesel truck and run it for quite a while, several times during the night. Since they rent, I suppose they are out there smoking and whatever else they don't want their landlord to know about. The noise is so loud right outside my window that neither a pillow over my head nor my ipod earphones drown it out. Sooooo... I guess it was nice that he at least admitted that he was the one and even offered to pay for the damage. It's amazing that he would do that, and while I give him credit for doing so, it was very difficult to stand there and "appreciate" his actions, even though that is what I said. I still feel bad about my plants and we told him that we really won't know the damage until we see what happens this spring. Most of my plants are pretty hardy. But still, the fact that I have to put up with this guy and his cohorts all the time just pisses me off. Just one more reason why I can't stand the guy. Ughhh!!!

On the lighter side, it was a beautiful (if icy) snowfall and we really needed the moisture. One of our NICE neighbors brought their St. Bernard over to console us and have some fun.

Where Did November Go?

A light snow fell right before Thanksgiving but soon melted, just what I love about Colorado. This year there is some nice "winter interest" on the strips due to the lack of heavy snows that knock everything down.

The roses are now put to bed. I cut off any extremely long branches that will break during winter winds and then wrap the bushes in twine, again for the same reason. I rake up all the debris, mulch and top soil around them, then I added some winterizer from High Country Gardens. After that my husband helped me put down new compost and garden soil, piled up against the bushes, and then mulch was added. Now I can go into winter knowing my roses are nice and warm, and given a boost to start them next spring. I don't mind doting on my roses since I only have a few bushes.

OMG, I can't believe looking at the calendar today! November has blown by. We had a small Thanksgiving snow storm after setting highs the days before (76 degrees)! I'm just thankful that so far (knock on wood) it has not been as snowy as last year. Because of this there is actually some "winter interest" on the strips and I enjoy looking at them every day. The only gardening chore I have not done yet is to clean up my tools. Gotta do that soon!

So, where has November gone? Well, I have spent most days redecorating and painting, and trying to catch up on household chores that went lacking during a busy gardening season. Wow, I didn't realize how far behind I was! I still have lots I want to accomplish by Christmas, but the progress I am most pleased with is getting all of the gardening books out of the living room and into my office. True, they are not organized here yet, but that is my next project. It will be good to have all of my information at hand while I'm at the computer and at my desk. Should make things much more convenient and efficient. And the next project will be to start a central catalogue on my computer of all my plants (from the very beginning). I'm looking forward to winter days to accomplish this.

This week I plan to catch up on all my favorite blogs and see what everyone has been up to. It feels good to have accomplished a few projects.

The Never Ending Winter...

Pikes Peak today as seen from a neighborhood walking path

We had a substanial frost last night and some areas of town experienced snow. Pikes Peak has seen more snow than any season since at least 1993, and there is a chance for more through the weekend. We've been in a drought for so long, that nobody's used to this. There were seven consecutive weekends of snow this winter. Either highly unusual, or we've just forgotten what a real winter is like. Whichever, I'm tired of it and ready for some warm weather. For the month of May we have had over 4 1/2 inches of rain. That's Colorado for you. Wide swings in temperature and crazy extremes. Certainly doesn't get boring! Come hell or high water, I'm planting my annuals this weekend.