Some off-the-top-of-my-head garden tidbits: I left my goldfish outside in the pond ( with an ice melter and a circulating pump and, so far, no floating piscine bodies. ) Am I the only one smelling spring in the air? I go outside to cardinals singing and there are little green shoots at the edges of the snow banks. The grand total of bulbs I planted was 750. We'll see how many come up. ( For procrastinators there are still perennial bulbs which can be planted in spring—primarily lilies and alliums. ) You want a free scarecrow line for the garden?
If you have pets, many cans of pet food have pull tabs. Save and wash the tops and tie them to a line—birds don't like them. Don't use cocoa mulch if you have outdoor cats or let your dog use the yard; chocolate is poisonous to them. Pots of elephant ears make great punctuation marks around the yard, sun or shade; just water them adequately. Someone gives you a baby shrub or an offshoot of a perennial—stick them in fancy pot with good dirt and don't plant them out till they're bigger. New plants to try: "Spring Symphony" foamflowers ( pink/shade ); masterwort ( Astrania—pink/part shade ); Salvia Cardona ( sun/purple ). "Marcesent" means when plant leaves wither but stay on the plant in winter. Many oaks do this. ( There is a very fine row of fastigate ( means "upright," like a Lombardy poplar ) oaks near my favorite bookstore. I HAD to correct someone who thought they were diseased. )
Here's this month's recipe in honor of my home state of Kansas: sunflower slaw. You use a head of shredded cabbage ( red is fun ); five carrots shredded; a can of crushed pineapple; a three- or four-ounce package of roasted sunflower kernels; 3/4 cup mayonnaise; three tablespoons of lemon juice and three tablespoons of orange juice. Combine dry ingredients in bowl; combine dressing ingredients and pour over rest. Chill and serve.
Now is the time to dig out that garden map you promised yourself to do for the last set of garden-related resolutions so you can remember the blank spots, the flat-out failures, the overly successful and those species you've always longed for—since the garden catalogs are here! Time to order! Ahem, I suppose I could get all superior and show you the map I did make ( really! ) except .... I can't find it.
So we're all in the same boat, which reminds me of one of the most poignant garden stories I ever heard. A couple who had been married many years found that the wife had incurable cancer. One of her favorite winter activities had been ordering new plants for their garden. It was this time of year and she was due to die in several months—her husband found her in their den ordering plants, as usual, and asked her incredulously what she was doing. She answered calmly that she was plotting the resurrection. So all of you plot your plot's new beginnings, and we'll see you all at the next garden-club meeting!
