In the garden this month, there has been an interesting contrast of dull days and bright color, sunny mornings and then snow followed by days of rain. Just the day before our QOV sew day, it snowed. As I watched the snow fall, it seemed that every bird in the neighborhood needed a bit of extra fuel to deal with the cold.
Fat flakes came down all morning.
A bluebird showed up to share the bounty.
The red bellied woodpecker shares the buffet with a titmouse.
On the snow covered ground, a flock of juncos was looking for seeds dropped from the feeder. I threw some out on the ground for them. The white patch on this one is actually a snowflake falling, not a marking on the bird.
More and more birds came by for a meal. The cardinal pair share the feeder with another titmouse.
Dreary grey overcast skies outside were a stark contrast to the intense pink color of a recent bloom on one geranium on the three season porch out back.
The parsley is still doing well, providing some fresh leaves for cooking through winter.
This geranium is still alive, and I think I need to prune it. It is getting really leggy.
The spike dracaena is surviving its second overwintering on the porch nicely, and seems to be putting out a second stalk of leaves. I may try to divide it in the spring and have two plants. The amazing thing is I got this on the bargain rack at the local big box store, paying about 3 dollars for a pot with it and several other plants together.
In the kitchen, the red amaryllis is making progress, and I hope the flower will open in a couple more weeks.
Rain moved in last week, bringing several grey days, and a few areas got flooded. The fog settling into the low areas shows the layers across the valley to the far mountain ridges. I love this view, seen from all the windows on the front of the house, and from the sewing room in the basement.
This weekend is ideal for seed bed starting, so I got busy on my potting bench filling Jiffy Pots with Miracle Grow potting mix. This weekend is the ideal planting time until late in the month according to my 2020 Farmer’s Almanac.
To keep the pots straight, I use recycled plastic knives, with the label written in permanent pen. I collect these from summer picnics and wash them, then use the same ones year after year. I love having the red ones for tomatoes.
I had asked my wonderful husband to suspend my grow light on chains so I could adjust the height, and he did that. So now, the light is just inches away from the pots, and I can raise it as the plants get bigger. I hope this will solve the problem of leggy plants I’ve had in the past. Each year a new experiment, and a new hope.
Lots of tomatoes and herbs, plus a few flowers were planted. Now the waiting begins.
Out in the front, my crocus bulbs are putting up shoots. I found some additional little bulbs in the basement when I was planting, and I need to get those in the ground this weekend too.
Daffodils are almost ready to burst with bright yellow color.
Another section of daffodils are coming up. Looks like I’ll have lots of pretty blooms soon.
The bad news is the white azalea is leafing out and producing buds. It has been too warm, and in spite of the groundhog predicting an early spring, another freeze or snow will damage the pretty white color of these flowers, turning them brown. So, I really wish the weather would stay cold so it won’t bloom until April, but I don’t think that will happen.
Down the drive, another daffodil is almost open. They can take the cold and snow, so I’m not concerned about them.
The hyacinths aren’t blooming yet, which is a good thing. The irises are coming up early though. It was 24 degrees when we got up yesterday, but warmer today. What is going on in your garden now?
From My Carolina Home 
Always enjoy your nature posts!
What a fabulous view of the mountains. So peaceful and inspiring!
Lucky you! I am thinking of doing a little winter-sowing…but need to get busy if that is going to happen. Have been saving a few gallon plastic containers to use. We’ll see how that goes! My grow lights are busy with scented geraniums I started with cuttings last fall….
Love seeing any progress in gardens at this time of year! My gardens are under 4 feet of snow and will be under snow until mid April. Any plant that dares to show a delicate bud before May (-frost date here is the long weekend in May) is doomed not to flower this year. I live in Ottawa, Canada so I love to see what you can grow in the Carolinas!
Hi Carole.
I read your post and a few years back I learned through my local co-op that there are two spectrum colors for growing plants. A warm and cool one and plants need both to thrive.
I learned many tips and hints to my growing problems. Am I an expert, heck no but I do keep trying! Lol
Like your idea of plastic knife labels, I may steal that when we get home. Traveling south to visit Mom in Florida. In Virginia coastline presently, seems so great to see green!
Love the birds at the feeders. Miss our feeders, since the bear got them last fall. Not much going on here in the garden—a light covering of snow, which is unusual for NH. Lots of rain, though. Odd winter all around here. Thanks for the green inspiration!
Spring appears to be arriving in your garden. I love it!
Beautiful pictures! It is my favorite time of year as the bulbs ‘spring’ out of the cold earth.
I just love your gardening and birding updates! So great to see the bulbs coming up around your pretty garden. Not much happening where I am, so I really enjoy these posts!
Lovely to see things blooming. You’ve been busy with plantings and feed your birds. Love to see it all along with your beautiful views. Enjoy!
I found this post inspiring. We very recently moved from a house with a huge yard to a condo with a solarium. When the real cold snap hit I moved my potted roses into the solarium from the outside bbq area and they seem to be happy. Mind you, so is the one I left outside. The mini daffodils I planted are actually blooming and the tulips in the same pot are coming up. They were left outside with the one rose.
For me, this year will be a big experiment. I will buy a raised wooden planter for vegetables and I have a table with bonsai plus will have a table with herbs. It certainly isn’t 1/3 acre, but it should give me some colour and food.
I use popsicle sticks to mark the locations of my plants. They work well but plastic knives are a great idea and one I want to try.
I used to grow a garden – and now I grow grandsons who love to play with trucks. This year they have agreed to “give me” part of the garden if I promise to grow corn and sunflower seeds. So I guess that’s a deal and maybe I can attract some of the birds you have. I’ve only seen pictures of some. Cardinals like this area and usually stay all winter for a splash of color in our snow. Your eye for beauty shows through everything you do. Thank you for sharing your world with us.
If you prune your geranium be sure to put the cutting in some dirt. I have had excellent luck starting new geraniums this way.
This has to be my favorite time of year. I love seeing the process of new growth bursting through the soil be it in the yard or in peat pots. Hope springs eternal.
Ok…..I really have bird envy now, especially Bluebird envy….hahaha! Your pictures are sooo good! What type birdseed do you use? Maybe I’ll try something new to draw the Bluebirds in. All of my hyacinths are up and 3 blooming…wish they would all bloom at the same time and really put on a show! I hope to plant more rows so they will be a big mass of color but they seem to need something behind them to show them off better. Thanks for sharing the beauty!
Oh how I loved seeing the birds at your feeders. I feed them at our LakeHouse in Pennsylvania but can not here as the undesireable rodents come that enjoy our Jeep and Hot Tub Wires as well!
THANK YOU for sharing your lovely birds!
Thankyou for sharing your garden and birds with us. I know that snow can be a pain (I lived in the UK for many years) but it is so lovely to see. Your plants will love the warmer weather that’s coming.
We are sweltering in the heat at present with brown, crunchy underfoot, paddocks and having to feed hay to keep the animals happy.
Love seeing your lovely birds!! Where are the bears??
Hello Carole, It has been very cold here, up higher in the mountains snow falls almost nightly in one area or another, yet has melted away by the end of the day. Kevin and I enjoy watching our feathered friends as well and are always amazed at the variety of old and new species that begin arriving this time of year. Your plants, herbs and flowers are looking splendid. I sure wish that I could hold onto the facts that you do about planting and taking care of each one. No matter though, I do what I can and always enjoy reading and seeing everything that you share about your lovely flower gardens every year-throughout the year!! Thank you so much for sharing and have a spectacular day!!
You have wonderful bird pictures, Carole – I always enjoy them! The birds are always extra busy in our yard on snowy days, too. How fun to be planting seeds already and seeing crocuses and daffodils come up! I should start seeing them here by the end of the month – but just the green shoots!
Thank you for the garden updates. It’s how I used to track my own, and I can live vicariously through yours now. I love observing my surroundings.
Our feeders are our entertainment now…heck all year long. Starlings are movng in now and I HATE them. Bluebirds are everywhere and always start fighting with the English Sparrows for the boxes in our pond area. I have no gardening plans this year as we will be moving across country. Not sure what grows in the area we are moving to so I have decided to wait until we get there to think about it. Nice to see that it is Spring where you live.
xx, Carol
Lovely to see your plants progressing, indoors and out. It still feels too early to be sowing seeds here. We have so many dull days and the ground remains saturated.
We have had two Atlantic storms sweep across the UK over the past two weekends. Many towns have experienced flooding, there are severe flood warnings in place and river levels are yet to reach their peak. So tragic to see homes and businesses ruined by flood waters.Nature will recover from these events much faster than we can.
It must really brighten the day to see the birds in your garden on these Winter days.
I can see that you need to get a lot of plants growing well before they can go into the ground when it is so cold.
And crazy as it seems, I have an azalea here trying to bloom at the wrong time of year, too.