Computer withdrawals and a seed update

"Flowers changed the face of the planet. Without them,the world we know. . . would never have existed."

- Loren Eiseley, US anthropologist

I have been computerless at home for nearly a week. Some awful virus attacked my computer (no thanks to a file-sharing software that one of my wonderful children installed). Well, after a week's wait and $140 later, here I am finally able to post again. I have learned some valuable lessons this week: Don't download any file-sharing program, make sure all of your photos and music are backed up (which I thought I did but then later found out I didn't) and have a good anti-spyware program. Sigh ...

Anyway, on my last post I told you I was going to start some seeds indoors and in one week's time - I have healthy sprouts. The last to appear was the cleome. Like the seed packets suggested, I put the California poppy and the nigella straight in the ground. Apparently they like a cooler start and I live in the perfect climate for that. This is the kind of weird weather North Dakota has: Last Thursday it was 83 degrees and then the next day - in the 40s! Only here!

It didn't deter me much, I still worked out in the garden beds and even moved a few perennials around. I also sowed the blue larkspur too (thanks Kerri!).

Now it's just wait and see ... if only I was a patient gardener!

Sow what now?

OK all you gardeners ....

Is it too late to start seeds indoors? When I had wanted to start seeds indoors it was the height of the flood. Now I'm about 3 weeks behind and wondering if it's even worth it.

Typically, it's not safe to plant seeds (or any potted plants) until AT LEAST Mother's Day around here (Chris from ND can vouch for this). Some years, it's not safe until Memorial Day. Even if I started the seeds for 4-5 weeks, is the seedling going to be strong enough to survive the spring transplant?

I wanted to start cosmos, bush morning glory and maybe even my cleome. I don't have a sophisticated set-up for my seeds indoors - just lots of sunlight in a south exposure window.

What do you think ... wait and just sow the seeds in mid-May or get a headstart now and take my chances with some grown indoors for a few weeks? Help!

Happy spring!

These beautiful green buds from a Siberian Iris was a welcome visitor this Easter Sunday. After nearly six hard months of winter, this was a lovely sight.

Temps are in the 50s for the next few days and much of the snow has melted - all but the front of my house which faces north and still has lots of compacted snow. So today, I got out the shovel and moved the snow around to sunnier locations. I'm sure my neighbors were wondering what the hell I was doing shoveling the grass and garden beds. I'm just getting a jump start on gardening people!

I was out with Mommy's Little Helper who watched me shovel while she skated around in her new inline skates she received for her birthday. It was a great morning to be outside - the sun was shining, the sun was clear and it instantly uplifted my spirits. I was surprised to see a Red Cross truck driving around our neighborhood again - I'm sure they were checking to see if there were any people working on our dike and were offering beverages and treats. How nice of them to come by on Easter ...

Anyway, here's some of the things I found underneath all that snow ....

This is one of my geraniums.

I believe this is a pink columbine?!?!!? Regrettably, I did not mark my plants last fall and I planted SO MANY new things and now I am lost as to what and where I planted. This is atypical of me and I am so frustrated! I think back to September when I would normally do this and I was so sick with my gallbladder. So that's probably why I neglected this garden chore. Oh well - it does add an element of surprise to spring ...

I haven't had much experience with grasses. This is one of my prairie grasses and not sure - do I cut this down even more. Do I wait for new growth to come and then do away with this?