Indoor Succulents

Imagine my surprise when my somewhat neglected indoor succulents have decided to bloom. The one above is silver squill (Ledebouria). It is poisonous to people and plants. The photo above is after I cleaned it up a bit. Below is all the leggy flower stalks.

I'm not sure what kind the one below is, but it's got an interesting flower. 

You can see in the background that we're having a rain storm. Normally, we'd have a blizzard this time of year with all this water falling from the sky. I am NOT complaining. I'm happy with the rain, which helps with the drought, and the warmer temperatures mean I can walk outside. 

I believe the plant below is Kalanchoe tomentosa. Small leaves have dropped to the soil, and because I've been too busy to notice, they created little baby plants. I repotted one of them. Hopefully it will grow up to be as pretty as its parent plant. 

First Daffodil

The first daffodil! I remember only one other time in my life when daffodils bloomed this early. More will bloom (I hope), but the first daffodil is something special. 

Seed starting and spring fever

Am I starting seeds too soon? These lanky seedlings would say yes. I'll probably re-seed. The photo below is a different tray from March 27 after we got over a foot of snow. It's melting slowly, which is good for replenishing groundwater and not so good for someone who wants to play in the garden. 

Happy Spring!

Tonight is the vernal equinox, and the sun has graciously provided us with a beautiful sunrise. Bulbs are testing the temperature, a centimeter or two out of the ground, but I hope they wait a little while because we have snow in the forecast for tomorrow night and even more snow for Sunday. Yep, that's spring in Minnesota. 

Tree Removal

We've had the warmest meteorological winter on record in Minnesota, and robins have been singing since the end of February. Snow hasn't been on the ground for ages, and some bulbs are starting to push through the ground. Removing two Siberian elms was the right decision. Above is the "before" photo, which has been a while ago since you can see the snow. The tree guys did great work, even if I was nervous watching them so high up in the trees.

The trees were dropping dead branches, and the little seeds turned into trees everywhere in the landscape, which is one reason why they're considered invasive.  Next we'll have the stumps (below) removed. We're going to plant a native tree, not sure which kind yet, but I'm having fun researching the choices. 

February First Frost

These strawberries, which have escaped the mulch, capture some furry frost.

Purple coneflower seed heads look good with a frosty coat.

Alyssum embraces the crystal sparkles of frost.

Cold Snap

Today is chilly. In the warmest part of the day (now), it's -1 F and the windchill is -22 F. I took advantage of staying indoors by baking a healthier version of apple bread, and soon I'll make some chili. Even though I feel like hibernating, the wildlife is active. Two foxes made their way through the neighborhood's back yards. When I plan my spring seed and plant orders, I'll include more netting and fencing. My goal is to let them live a happy life while I have a beautiful garden. I'm not sure how that's going to work.