I’m sitting here watching a snowstorm swirl outside my window and my Dad just emailed me a picture of Evan.  Evan is spending winter break in Florida with grandma and grandpa.  Feeling sorry for myself, I take comfort in the fact that there appears to be a gusty wind on the beach.   I’m picking him up at the airport later this week.  I’m sure he will have a nice tan.  I’ll sport my own version of a tan: a chapped, ruddy face resulting from frigid temperatures and pelting snow.  

I am getting pretty sick of all this snow.  But it does have its good points.  With all of this shoveling (it seems our household hasn’t heard of snowblowers yet), my pecs are getting pretty shaped (at least something is). 

Shoveling allows my mind to wander and in the process I make mental gardening notes.  For instance, as I shoveled past the HUGE mound of snow at what end of my front garden, it reminded me not to plant perennials there that require sharp drainage.  Plants for xeriscaping would also be a no-no.  it takes such a long time in the spring for the snow to melt these plants are very susceptible to rot.

On the other hand, I was pleased to see my lace-cap hydrangeas that I circled with chicken wire in the fall, all covered with snow.  The wire hoop keeps branches from snapping and the mass of snow protects the tender flower buds formed on the stems in late summer.  Nice.

I am assuming the group of 100+ pots of perennial divisions I carefully placed around the trunk of my pine tree are enjoying the insulating snow blanket.  These are in storage for this spring’s plant sale.  The next time I shovel past this tree I will dig down in the snow with my hand to touch a few pots , more for my reassurance than theirs!

Well, must push away from the computer and…..go shovel.

Here is my handywork from the other day.  I played hooky from writing my blog.  If you look closely, you may a resemblence to my son, Evan.   
 

Ahhhh, ummmmm, well………..  Why is it I’m feeling nervous as I write my first entry?  I can give a garden talk to an audience numbering in the hundreds but here I am getting all ‘thumb-tied’ as I launch my inaugeral garden blog. 

I have great aspirations for sharing lots of practical, time and money saving gardening tips as well as featuring helpful landscape-related topics.  We shall see how my blog evolves.  Of course, you know I would love to hear your feedback and advice. I am excited about growing into my blog.   One baby step at a time.    I promise my next entry will include some pearls of wisdom.  On your mark, get set, go!

As you can see, I have not let all of this snow go to waste….