Feels Like Spring

Even though it's only the middle of February, it feels very much like spring.  Yesterday it was 66.  Out in the garden things are starting to wake up.

The blueberries have fat buds.

The nectarine blossoms are showing pink.

And the rhubarb is just poking up.

Raspberries on the Move

Yesterday we moved some raspberries from the front yard into a bed in the back garden.  We plan to put a tallish hedge in front along the fence to block out the neighbor across the street's house, which is an eyesore. 

I moved one Meeker, one Willamette, and five of the nameless fall-bearing plants that Barb Crothers gave me.  We put up wooden posts to hold the wire through screw eyes.  We also put posts in the asparagus bed, to hold up some sort of fence, maybe lattice, to hold the ferny fronds in. 

I added four small bags of compost and some all purpose fertilizer to the raspberry bed before I planted them. 

The garden is nearly cleaned out, except for a few leeks, a few cabbages, and some greens and carrots. 

Today is foggy, but yesterday was beautiful.  It was sunny and in the low 60s.  We even had lunch on the deck!

Blooming

Today as I was weeding I found a couple of neat little things blooming.  The first is a lichen on a rock in the front garden.

The second appears to be some kind of fungus in the herb bed in the back garden.

First Mandarin!

Today we picked the first (of two) mandarin.  It still had a little green on it, but it felt soft, so we took a chance.  It was pretty good!  We decided to leave the other one on a little longer.

First Broccoli

Today I cut the first broccoli head for our Thanksgiving dinner.  It weighed 1 lb. 10 oz. and was very good.

Gloriosa

Today I turned over the pot that had the two gloriosa lilies in them.  I was happy to find a double bulb in each one.  They broke in half, so next year I should have four plants.  I've put them in the garage for now to dry. 

I also dug up two sweet potato vines.  The tubers aren't very impressive, but I'll try to plant them next spring and see how they do.

The two mandarins look like they are starting to turn orange.  They have a slight yellow tinge.

As for the winter crops, the broccoli and cabbage are doing well.  There are some small heads coming on the broccoli, and the cabbage is ready to cut any time.  The kale could be bigger.  One harvest will pretty much finish them off.  The spinach is still tiny, so next year I need to plant it about a month earlier.  And the last planting of carrots is very small.  Maybe they'll grow in the spring.  The ones I planted on August 15 are a bit small, but useable.

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Aftermath

Here is what the 'wintry mix' delivered.

This is before and after of the liquidambers next door.  Many broken limbs