Spring is Here!

Hallelujah! Not that that weather will always be warm and sunny, and that I won't suffer through my share of allergies, but YAY!!! My winter blahs are officially over.

And that means that it is time to put my hands into some dirt. I want to get some annuals started early so that I can enjoy them mid-summer. I also need to take care of my houseplants. I have been neglecting them, and so it's time to fertilize, prune and repot.

I bought a peace lily two or three weeks ago, and I may buy a few more newer plants to replace some of the older ones that no longer look healthy. I've had certain houseplants for years, so I think it is time to diversify. A few will be humanely discarded, and others will be moved to less prominent locations. The point is, I need a change and I think they need change as well.

We had a mild winter, so most of the plants survived the cold sun room without too many problems. The one problem I noticed were bugs. These black and red flying bugs were all over one window, and at one point there were so many of them that I got out the bug spray and went to town. I felt horrible, but it was ridiculous. They were not only in the sunroom, but they were invading other parts of the house, and I was tired of seeing them. There were also a lot of ladybugs, but I didn't harm them. However, there are tons of dead bugs by the window, so one of my tasks today will be to sweep everything away.

I did have some problems with stickiness on the leaves of my two scheflerra plants. Both have been suffering for a while, so if I can't get them clean with the insecticidal soap, then they will be candidates for the back yard pile. From now on, that back yard will be where I dump everything, and thanks to the advice from the Home Depot saleswoman, I'll recycle everything by adding lime.

Oh, I had no idea about the use of lime in the garden. I have so many problem areas, and I've tried the chemical solutions, but now, if I can get rid of everything with a few bags of lime, and then if the "killings" are harmless to the yard (and the organic matter will be beneficial to the soil anyway), then bring it on! I know that seems callous, but it is necessary for me to figure out a plan for disposing of plants without throwing them away.

The day lilies are growing in spite of my attempts to kill them with old potting soil. To them, that might have been food. Well, it doesn't matter because once I put down the lime, they will be out of here and I will not have to go through another season of those hideous plants. The flowers are pretty, but the stuff that gets left behind is horrible and makes my yard look like the Everglades. I have a lot of work to do back there, but luckily I'm not in a rush to see anything spectacular, so I have time.

I pruned a few branches from my peach tree, and my hub spread the organic fertilizer on the lawn. We are on schedule, I think. The only problem spot is the tree space in front of the house. When I did my raking this fall, I noticed that there was no grass in the plot, so I bought some grass seed and put down some mulch a few weeks ago. But, there has been no growth, so I believe the missing ingredient has been water...we haven't watered it since that first day. We have tried to avoid the area by walking in the street, but I think the lack of water is the real holdup. Also, the weather has been iffy (I think we had snow one day).

Other than that, I am reading up on the vegetables that I want to grow this year. I have more containers than I probably need, so a few may become flower pots for the sunflowers in the front yard. I have seeds for those mammoth sunflowers that grow to 8 feet, so I may set those out in the front yard (and I can't wait to see how my neighbors respond to that). Of course, that may mean that I will be chasing crows and other pesky birds away, so I am considering a bird feeder in the back yard to throw them off while the flowers are in bloom.

I've also got to figure out how to keep the squirrels from my peaches and tomatoes this year. I actually watched the squirrels climb the peach tree and each peaches every day while they were ripe last year. It was funny, but also crazy because then they got bold and decided to attack my tomatoes later on during the summer. I had to chase these jokers away. Who knew that squirrels ate fruits and vegetables?