A NEW FEBRUARY FACE IN THE SWEET GARDEN

 

Last August I lost my beloved Mini-Aussie Duke to lymphoma.  He was a young, spirited 5 year old and my constant companion in the garden.  While I still grieve for him on February 20th  I decided to get a new puppy to fill our lives with joy.  Meet  9 week old Odie, a Schnoodle ( Schnauzer/Poodle ) with the dog whisperer, granddaughter Lea. They're already great pals.   She wants to be a Vet when she grows up, a good choice given her great love of all animals.

This year we've set a new record for the rainest winter -38 " and counting, the annual rainfall of rainy Seattle and close to our annual rainfall of 43-48 ".   We've had a light dusting of snow which quickly melted away and few temperatures below freezing so this winter was also rather mild.

Blooming in the Sweet Garden this months are 2 Prunus mume 'peggy clarke ', Edgeworthia, Hellebores, daffodils and evergreen Viburnum ' spring bouquet. '  There are big, fat buds on the evergreen Clematis 'armandii  '  that will burst forth in a few warm days.

                      

                        The double pink blossoms of Prunus mume 'peggy clarke'

             attracts multitudes of bees.  It's a rare and welcome sight in the

             midst of January /February .

This last day of February we had 75 warm and wonderful degrees !  What we need are more sunny days to dry up the saturated ground. 

Looking ahead to March the long-range forecast shows mild weather.  Once the ground has dried I need to get out to the vegetable garden and sow seeds.  I've got 4 boxes of wildflower seeds that need to be planted in my roadside garden.

Meanwhile I'm watching my favorite Bluebirds fill the many nesting boxes I've put up -a sure sign of Spring !