TOO MUCH TOO FAST

Don't get me wrong, I love this weather. Who wouldn't love a nearly eighty degree day in April in Michigan! But, remember what spring is all about. It's about a slow change. Plants slowly emerging from the soil, trees slowly leafing out, the temperature slowly rising from freezing to pleasantly comfortable. When we get too warm too fast all of nature seems to be on the fast track. A garden bed that is flat and brown in the morning is covered with three inch shoots by afternoon. The bare branches of the early blooming shrubs magically sprout flowers overnight. I want to shout, "slow down". I've been waiting five freezing, icy, dreary, snowy months for spring and I want to see and enjoy every single little change. I want the forsythia to take a few days to fully blossom. I want the crocuses to have their chance to shine before hyacinths and tulips overshadow them. Would it be too much to ask the lily of the valley and hosta to show restraint. Please stay put at least until I've raked away your dead leaves from last fall. Most of all I want the garden centers to slow down, stop teasing me with those frost susceptible pretties that should not be planted til Memorial Day.

Cactus in Michigan

Did you know there are three main families of cactus that are cold hardy? Did you know cacti are native only to North and South America. If you're not a resident of the Southwest, you probably don't know a lot about cactus or their cultivation.

The winter hardy cactus that I grow in my zone 5 garden is Opuntia (prickly pear). I'm not sure of the species. The flowering plant in my banner is prickly pear. One of Opuntia's cultivation requirements is well draining soil . My sandy soil is perfect. They also like at least five hours of sunlight. My cactus bed is in full sun and is mulched with pea gravel to keep down the weeds.

In late fall the cacti begin to shrivel to prepare for winter. They have to be able to withstand freezing without bursting. You'll notice when the snow melts in the spring that the cacti are flat to the ground. They actually look dried up and dead. However, as the weather warms the plants will slowly rise up and fill out. Pretty soon flower buds will appear followed by beautiful yellow flowers.

Grass Head, Part II

Are you curious about how the "grass head" project turned out?



We had a great time making these!! Now we have to wait for the grass to grow.

Seeds, Seedlings, Babies

It's getting close to decision time. Will I or won't I start seeds!

Starting plants from seeds is a lot of work. Am I really up to the challenge again this year? Seed starting, I think , is a lot like baby starting and child rearing. First the seed is planted. You cross your fingers and wait and wait for a sign of germination. Finally, if you're lucky, the test is positive, you see a tiny bit of green emerging from the moist brown potting mix. You're overjoyed to see the new life you helped to create. But then, the real work begins. Coddle, coddle, coddle! The new seedlings need lots of tender loving care...must have enough light, must have proper moisture, must be protected from damping off. I'm tired just thinking about all the monitoring. Weeks pass as you pamper the seedlings and watch them grow more strong and vigorous. Then the time comes to prepare your babies to leave the house. Gradually you expose the seedlings to direct sunlight and the open air. They have to be ready for life in the real world. Finally, it's planting out day. You carefully and proudly put your very own beautiful little plantlets into the troweled out little holes in the garden bed. As you step back and admire your work, you give yourself a pat on the back . What a proud parent you are!

GRASS HEADS

Next week the project our Master Gardener Horticultural Therapy group will help the residents of a local nursing home create is a "grass head". We did this project last year and the results were pretty funny. The main materials needed are socks, potting soil, and grass seed. Last year we used socks that had grey toes (grey area looks like hair). We used a permanent marker to draw faces on the socks. The residents had fun deciding on the characteristics of their characters. The next step was to put a handful of grass seed in the toe of the sock. We then filled the socks with moist potting soil and tied them off with rubber bands. The really really fun part was adding embellishments like button eyes, earrings, necklaces, hair bows, etc. The residents had to make sure the heads were kept moist so the grass seeds would germinate. (As you can see from the pictures the permanent marker didn't stand up to the water treatments.).

Right now I'm working on a grass head to use as a model for next week's activity. I'm trying something a little different. I inserted an empty water bottle into the sock to make the head stand up better. Also I cut off the elastic part of the sock and used that to cover a pint jar that I inserted the sock head in. I'm crossing my fingers in hopes of having some grass growth by Thursday.

SERENE WALK

I recently posted about my visit to "butterflies in bloom" at the Dow Gardens Conservatory. Although there were a couple of school buses in the parking lot, the groups of school children were exiting the Gardens as I entered, leaving me to enjoy a quiet, peaceful walk along the path to the Conservatory. These pictures were taken as I walked to and from the butterfly exhibit.

BUTTERFLIES IN BLOOM

This is the time of the year when many conservatories thrill visitors with butterfly releases. The conservatory at Dow Gardens is relatively small but that didn't minimize the excitement of watching dozens of butterflies flitting around enjoying the flower and artificial nectar. Can you identify these butterflies?

TIME TO RAKE AGAIN

Two days in a row! The weather has been beautiful for two days in a row. Maybe it is spring after all. Until yesterday I hadn't entered my carless garage since I'd put away the rake in October. Yesterday the rake came out again along with the pruners, clippers, garden gloves and leaf bags. I had done a pretty good job of putting the garden to bed in the fall but snow fell before the last leaves on the elderberry trees had fallen. Consequently, there were lots of large wet leaves to rake. It felt good to finally be able to get outside and do yard work. I had to remind myself , however, not to go overboard on the first day out. Somehow raking uses muscles that are never used for any other activity.

Yeah! My crocuses are finally blooming and other early bloomers are beginning to emerge

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ETTA JAMES

I bought the tickets over a month ago. A friend and I drove over 100 miles to the Whiting Auditorium in Flint to see the great Etta James. For a minute though, I thought someone was playing an April's Fool joke. The emcee introduced Miss Etta James. A very thin, light skinned, brown haired woman walked slowly onto the stage. (Why did I forget to bring my binoculars). The program said Etta James had lost over 200 pounds but I wasn't prepared for this skinny little lady. HOWEVER, when the skinny little woman opened her mouth and the first soulful note emerged I knew it was MISS ETTA JAMES. And she is still the queen of raunch, lots of innuendo and lots of simulation. Her awareness of young children in the audience tamed things down a bit. The performance was signed, I'm sure the signers had a big challenge translating some of the lyrics. ( Miss James gave both signers a big hug when she left the stage.) I enjoyed the performance so much. To actually see Etta James perform the songs I'd heard a zillion times on CD was fantastic. She sang many of her signature songs, "I'd rather go blind"; "I just wanna make love to you"; "You can leave your hat on". Of course the highlight was every one's favorite "At Last".

INTERNATIONAL EXPO

It's Tuesday, it's about time to tell you about the last of my Sunday events. My last stop was an International Expo at the university. Here, students from several foreign countries displayed items native to their countries and answered the many questions posed by curious attendees. Many of the students were also dressed in clothing from their native countries. The atmosphere was festive and friendly. The students were more than happy to pose for pictures and appeared delighted to share information about their countries and cultures. As I observed the scene around me, I thought, what a wonderful way to dispel myths and stereotypes about other peoples and cultures!