Week 1

I'm not sure what amazing sights I thought I would be photographing in my garden this week. In the end I just could not post a picture of the entire back with its dead grass and scattered straw. I didn't have much success with anything I planted in the fall - not even the radishes came through. I am blaming it on slugs and already have a new battle plan to deal with the rubbery vandals as it gets warm.

Gets warm? It was 2 degrees Fahrenheit this morning! Louisiana Man and Buttercup did fill the bird feeders a few days ago to help our feathered friends.

I tried to capture Big Red, but he is on to me and will not come near the feeder while I am hiding on the porch. Here he is in a Bradford pear at a safe distance from all but the telephoto lens.

I have one very welcome surprise in the raised beds rights now. I had planted several Brassicas in the fall, but only one made it - early purple sprouting broccoli. I have never grown it before, and I had quite forgotten I was growing it now. I picked off many insect-chewed leaves in the autumn, so it resembles a tiny palm tree now.

 Look closely to see the little purple shoots forming. I am amazed that there are vegetables that overwinter!

Besides the purple broccoli, my plants are slumbering, and my garden lives mostly in my mind and on the kitchen table, aka Planning Central.