Gardening Day #1

I haven't been in a rush to get out yet this year.  The nice thing about being retired is I'm not stuck in an office longing to be outdoors on a pretty day.  How could I not garden?  It was in the mid sixties for the second day in a row.  Tomorrow night into Saturday it is supposed to be rainy.  What a perfect time to plant my first peas!

 

I soaked four ounces of my Penelope Peas that I saved myself last year.  My plan is to plant four rows two weeks apart.  In the cup measure is all of my leftover lettuce seeds.  I sprinkled some of them along the pea row to act as ground cover.

My aforementioned "dump and run" method.

The next row is prepared for the second planting.  When that row is planted I will set up the pea supports down the center.

Can you see the two reddish tulip tips?

I lightly raked over the tulip bed and then added mulch in the form of shredded leaves covered with some compost to keep the leaves from blowing away.

Then for a bigger job.  I gave both apple trees a good pruning.

I've selectively pruned each year, mainly cross branching.  It was time to get them opened up a little.  Lord knows we don't have to worry that we won't have enough fruit.

They look so much better.

I took out quite a bit.

Elsewhere in the landscape the first crocus was in bloom (above) 

along with some Winter Aconite (below).  I even saw the first butterfly!  A black Mourning Cloak.  I have no idea what he will find to eat out there.

Besides what is going on outside, the first cauliflower seedling has sprung up and I started the presprouting process on my Ranunculus corms.  I will blog that when the process is complete.

Yesterday my first order of live plants arrived.  These are six native Spicebush shrubs.  They have yellow flowers similar to forsythia but more subtle, produce red berries and the leaves turn a bright yellow in autumn.  They are the host plant for my favorite black spicebush butterfly.  I will plant two in the dry creek bed and the rest along some of the natural areas we have.