Perhaps all this warm weather can be attributed to the box stores and fast food franchises that are cluttering our once pristine landscape? Now there's food for thought.
Whatever the reason, we gardeners are going to have to contend with the outcome of all of this warmth and rain. Those of you who live at the higher elevations and have excellent snow cover have my permission to gloat.
At the moment, I have arabis blooming and the crocus are an inch high. The lawn looks like it could use a mowing, but I'm sure that is because it went into the winter in need. The chickweed in the greenhouse is thriving.
The questions have been coming at me fast and furious: "What is going to happen to the oriental poppy that is already a foot high? What is going to happen to the lilac that is leafing out? My tulips have buds!"
If this were April, I would say that all will be well. But this most certainly is not April, and I haven't a clue what is going to happen. So I went to one who has answers: Toby Tyler. Oops. He doesn't know either. "Wait and see" was his advice.
And why not, really? Whatever survives, does, and what doesn't will give us all an excuse to try something else. Doesn't that sound cavalier? Well, I don't believe a word of it. If I lose the bulk of my beloved perennials because of this weird weather, I will pitch a fit, albeit useless, but a fit can be cathartic.
"What about mulch?" you say. Well, what about it? Anytime I have ever used mulch the mice (or voles or whatever you call them) have eaten the crown out of anything that was being protected. But I have taken some scrap pieces of floating row cover and thrown it over the digitalis (foxgloves), weighing it down with rocks, in hopes of giving them a helping hand through this period.
That is what I have done with them and other tender biennials during the spring freeze and thaw and have had some success. I can't just sit by and do absolutely nothing.
So far, the best mulching method that I have ever used is to NOT clean up the dead foliage in the fall. Just let it lay where it is. That alone has been enough protection over the years. We'll see what happens this year. I am betting that these plants are tougher than we are giving them credit for.
Moving on: Folks are asking if it is time to start their tomatoes. Go ahead. If you have enough light, time and patience and are willing to start over if they fail. I am waiting for the third week in February. Same goes with the artichokes. I'll start a few heads of lettuce at the same time so they can be growing merrily away in the greenhouse when I fire it up the third week in March.
One avid gardener was determined to start his tomatoes last week and asked me if his 1,000-watt bulb would do the trick. Well now. I have never in my life encountered a 1,000-watt bulb. I can't even imagine what it would look like, or how bright something like this would be.
Will it burn the seedlings? Will it melt the floor of the room it is installed in? Good grief. Methinks this bulb has been used for Alaska's most successful cash crop, and I am most grateful that this fellow is switching to tomatoes.
But, really, lets hang on a little longer. We still might get some winter. We still might get a chance to ski at least a few times.
Turn your thoughts to new perennials that may be on your horizon. I do have a favorite catalog for perennials. Once again, we are graced with excellent nurseries right here in Homer that will provide you with perennials. But what fun to look at a catalog.
There are some that haven't any pictures, and that is fine if you are looking for something specific and really know what you are doing. But, if you are like me, pictures sure do help the process. Here's the favorite: Bluestone Perennials, 7211 Middle Ridge Road, Madison, Ohio 44057, 1-800-852-5243; www.bluestoneperennials.com.
Their plants come in three packs, four-inch pots or "large" pots. And the prices cannot be beat. They arrive in excellent condition and exactly when you request them. They are truly beautiful plants.
I have been using this source for several years and am always impressed. Read the "How to use our catalog" carefully because plants that will do well "in the north" will have an "N" designation.
The question of what zone we are has been raised. That is such an interesting question. I think you can be safe thinking we are a zone 2, but if you have a protected location (and that can be in a tiny corner of your garden), you can go as high as a 4 and cross your fingers.
At this latitude every single foot in elevation challenges a plant's chance for success. There is no zone for good judgement.
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