At least we have "technical" Spring

Not the "springiest" sight on earth. March 20th has come and gone. Spring has to be more of a state of mind than a state of weather here at the Willow Garden.

There has been enough sun and a few moderate days to partly rid the driveway and part of our pathway of treacherous ice.

There is still a heavy layer on the path at the front which never gets enough sun to help in its demise. Time and higher temperatures will have to do the deed.

The snow has receded here and there, so the typical spots where some snowdrops appear are getting uncovered.

I saw a few little crocus shoots in the bed by the corner of the house. 

Inside we have some seedlings emerging, and the various peppers got planted today. The prospect of Hot Peppers should warm us up a bit. 

We always grow a nice hot one called 'Ring of Fire'. They do quite well, but I have been growing them in big pots or planters for several years. I think they get a btter chance at heat than when in the ground. At the end of the season we can bring them into the sunporch where they continue to ripen to a beautiful red. Dried, they can be used as is or ground up to make a VERY potent chili powder.

I have saved a bunch of the seeds from these, and they do grow into a good pepper, although they are a bit different from the parent. If anyone wants to try some, let me know.

This week we gave a "sharing talk" to the local Garden Club on seed starting. While we there we tried to pawn off some seed for some annual red poppies that were sent to us by a seed recipient. He sent us MANY seeds he had collected last season.

I don't usually DO annual poppies, so these were and are still up for grabs.

This week we also attended an interesting talk on Greenhouses given by Henri Steeghs from Pleasant Valley Nurseries. It was the first of a short series of talks to be given. The next is outlined below.

Gardening Workshops - Using Nature in the LandscapeThursday, April 16, 7:30 p.m. at the Town Council Chambers, 274 Main Street.

The Antigonish Public Library will present the second in a three part series on gardening in partnership with Antigonish Sustainable Development and the Fresh Air Society.  Topics to be covered will include comparisons between human built and natural landscapes, plant communities, plant establishment and more.

Our plans to give a couple of classes in the Spring Line-up for County Recreation are getting underway. 

A Computer Basics (The sequel) course is to start March30, 7PM at St. Andrews Junior School. There are still a few spaces open for that one.

The two session Gardening Course is slated for May and will be here at our garden.

There is info about these courses on our website.