The wind has been howling today, making it feel quite cool. We made our trip up to the cemeteries, hoping our plantings survive overnight.
Here at home we covered the lilies as they have their buds now.
My little garden now has an overnight cover, and I’ve brought in all the young plants and pots with sprouts.
The temperature is currently 51 degrees, expecting to drop to 33 or lower overnight. I hope we don’t lose anything to frost.
Two weeks ago we had a hard frost. Nighttime temperatures have been inching upward ever since. I decided about a week ago that it had to be safe to plant all my seeds now, and this week I put in zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, and green beans. Now there is a possibility of a frost tomorrow night! I hope not….
The peas I planted a few weeks ago have already popped through.
And the rhubarb has been coming along for over a month now. I finally made the first rhubarb crisp this evening.
Our garden is going to be on a small scale. It’s just the two of us, and our gardening space is limited. Now if the weather would just cooperate, my efforts might have results!
I could see the tree swallows out back this evening, soaring around the nest box, so I walked out as near as I dared venture without being swooped at. Two years ago they sent their offspring off about the first of June, and that was the last time I saw them until finally again this spring. I figured I had better get a photo while they’re still around.
On this cool and rainy evening, my thoughts go back to our sunny Saturday stroll through the gardens in Fort Tryon Park. Named for the last British governor of colonial New York, the park contains the highest point in Manhattan.
It was about an hour’s ride on the subway from our starting point in Queens. From the hustle and bustle of the city to these beautiful gardens and picturesque views of the Hudson River, it was the perfect place to gather for our picnic…..
Three days in New York went by very quickly.
We were on the go most of the time, and still I wish we could have stayed longer. We enjoyed our long weekend with Rebecca, Morgan, and Albert. The only thing that would have made our time in the city better, would have been to have had Garrett and Melissa with us.
There were shows, both Morgan’s and Albert’s (always interesting, and surprising), dinners in interesting places with interesting flavors, improv night with Albert, a visit to The Cloisters with a picnic, many subway rides, and walking, walking, walking.
There was quiet time, nourishing food,and entertainment by Tally the Cat back at the apartment.
And sleep came easily each night, after such full and busy days.
It was truly a great weekend!
We’re getting things packed up for a long weekend away. Tomorrow we will be on the road for the near five-hour drive to Queens, to Morgan and Albert’s apartment.
We haven’t been down since October, so I’m really looking forward to it. There are three shows to see, one is Albert’s, two are Morgan’s, so it will be a full weekend.
I took my camera and sat out on the wooden swing for a bit tonight to enjoy the backyard. The robins couldn’t resist the bird bath, even when I was sitting so close.
The birdbath is pretty level. That was me at a tilt…..
I hope that is the way with the temperatures! We had a record low of 26 degrees this morning, and it was quite a sight in the yard. The bird bath had little icicles hanging from it….
The hummingbird nectar was frozen
And Tina’s lilies had the look of stage fright…..
This evening the temperature rose to 76 and the lilies have recovered. The only casualty that I can see is the lilacs…the blooms look burnt from the frost.
It’s another night of frost warnings, then maybe we will be free and clear. I hope so! We have been collecting plants each time we make a stop at the garden center, and we’re anxious to get them in the ground. We have a bit of a deadline, as we’d like to have them planted before we leave for the long weekend.
The advantage of having the plants indoors, though, is having the chance to watch things grow and bloom right under our noses. The fuchsia are especially beautiful right now, and I look forward to them overflowing the pot.
The platycodon is a new plant for me. It was something we both agreed on right away with it’s pretty violet-blue flowers. It’s also known as Balloon Flower. The balloon-like buds burst open into a bell shaped flower.
And, the center of attention these days remains the magnolia.
The bud seems to have opened just a little bit further today.
It was a better day, as I felt rested. Weekends should be three days long….. Stuff got done around the house, and stuff got done in preparation for our trip next weekend. I gathered up the maps for a starter, and picked some rhubarb which we’ll take along.
George spent a good part of the day making dog biscuits, which is his contribution to the Relay for Life fundraiser this next weekend. It seems he’s been making them for several weeks, and all totaled has packaged up twenty bags.
It was too cold to do much outdoors, and a frost is forecast for overnight, so we didn’t do any gardening, but instead headed off to the movies mid-afternoon. When we returned home, I again brought in the plants from the deck.
Indoors, I have been treating the magnolia with great care. It sits in its pot on a diningroom chair which we scoot around the livingroom to get the full day’s sun. As I turned it around to inspect it today, I noticed that the bud is just beginning to pop open.
I hope we see a bloom before the weekend!