Last of the tomatoes

Tonight I used the last of my tomatoes. Picked a couple of weeks ago, before our first frost, they finished ripening inside. While they aren't as good as vine-ripened tomatoes picked in their prime, the 'Garden Peach' and 'Red Figs' tasted pretty good in the black bean chili I made tonight.

Insult to Injury

I realize that in Minnesota, we can't count on the growing season lasting any longer than baseball's regular season. But just as the Twins had a thrilling run in September, Summer pulled out all the stops and gave us a warmer than usual September.

On the last weekend in the season, the Twins tied the Tigers to force a playoff, and then won a thrilling one-game playoff to win their division. I wasn't counting on warm temperatures through Halloween, but it was easy to imagine that we'd ease into autumn.

It wasn't bad enough that the Twins lost three in a row to the Yankees; we got a hard frost in the middle of that sad series, and measurable snow the day after the third loss.

Mayday!

Okay, 40 degrees is not cause for alarm, unless you've got tender tomato plants sitting outside in these temps. Tonight's lows are forecast to dip into the 30s. The tomatoes and tropical annuals will be spending another night indoors before resuming their hardening.

Late Risers

Liatris takes its time waking from winter dormancy.

Nancy, the chief cook and bottle washer of The Vagary explains that liatris and some other prairie perennials have adapted to emerge after the risk of spring wildfires has passed.

Many perennial grasses fall into this category, too. I had been worried about the little bluestem I got from a neighbor late last fall, but it is finally showing signs of new growth.

I'm glad I didn't rip out the grasses, thinking that they had died. There's a reason to hold off working in the dirt until the second week of May.

Spring, awakening

Along the side of the house, near the hose faucet, there's a patch of lawn worn bare from walking. It's where I watch for a particular, lowly sign of spring: worm castings.

They finally appeared this morning.

Neighborhood lawns are halfway between brown and green. Lilac buds are ready to burst. Columbine have started to unfurl their leaves. Tulips and daffodils are up, but not yet in bloom. Any day now, Prairie Smoke will blossom.

As the GreenGirls suggest, I've planted some cool-weather crops (peas and beets) in containers.

I am slowly clearing the garden beds of leaves I laid down last fall as winter mulch. It would be faster with a leaf blower, but as long as my knees work and I have time, I like doing it by hand. Being close to the dirt feels right. There's a certain pleasure in lifting matted leaves and uncovering a pale, purplish shoot of some half-forgotten perennial.

Midway Glacier

The Midway Glacier, located behind the Midway Center, is slowly melting away.

UPDATE: As of April 3, all that remains is the debris.

Ice Out!

Looks like all the snow and ice is gone from the back yard. The last of the snow melted from the front yard a week ago.

Still waiting

Winter is receding, but Spring hasn't arrived just yet.

Patiently Waiting

Stone soldier that didn't get put away last fall.

Frosted

Not a hard frost, but enough to kill the tomato plants.

UPDATE: a week later, we got our hard frost.

Summer's End

It was a good run, but summer is over.

The Twins lost last night, 0-1 to the Chicago White Sox in the division tie-breaker. This morning the temperature started off around 40. Trees are starting to turn color. There will be a lot of green tomatoes going into the compost pile this year.

As usual, I have a long list of garden chores yet to finish before the snow flies. I've been dividing perennials and potting up some of the spares. They won't get in the ground -- not properly, anyway. I'll probably dig a shallow trench for the pots and cover them with compost and leaves after we've had a hard frost.

Hail? No!

Last Saturday, the 24th, I went to the St. Paul Farmers' Market to buy plants for my aunt. I picked up tomatoes, peppers, and some annual flowers. I even stopped by Mother Earth Gardens in South Minneapolis to get a couple of tomatoes that were on her list but not at the market.

Sunday looked like a good day to plant, even though storms were forecast for the late afternoon. My daughter and I hopped in the minivan and headed north to Monticello.

Oh that I had heeded Michele's advice to wait until Memorial Day to plant.

We got done planting 16 tomatoes, 8 pepper plants, and 3 rows of beans before the storm clouds moved in. As we were picking up tools, the sirens sounded. And then the hail hit. Not just a little hail, but a lot of it. And much of it was large. There were three distinct waves of hail, each lasting several minutes.

My minivan got hit pretty bad, but not as bad as some of the newly planted tomatoes and peppers. I couldn't bear to take photos of them. Shredded leaves strewn around bare stalks.

If only I had thought to put upturned pots over the plants. That would have saved all of them.

Later that evening, we learned of the devastation and loss of life when a tornado, spawned by the same storm system, tore through Hugo. Put it all in perspective. I'll take the hail damage and drive up to replace the tomatoes that need replacing, while saying a prayer for those who lost much more elsewhere.

Aster rising

Amid the new growth, a reminder of last Autumn's glory.

Prairie Smoke blossoms

Same as last year, Geum triflorum is the first non-bulb to blossom.

April really is the cruelest month

Woke up this morning to find snow on the ground. And on my flowers. Good thing I brought in my tropicals a couple nights ago.

The bulbs that I received from EAL were wise to wait. They look as if they have rosy noses from the cold. My hardy geranium looks interesting with a dusting of snow.

Update: Monday (April 28) the surface soil around these tulips was actually frozen. Brr.

Nature's first green is purple*

Yellow Loosestrife, Lysimachia punctata

I've noticed that quite a few perennials send up shoots in shades of purple, pink, and red. Most of these green up quickly as they grow and are exposed to sunlight. When mature, these yellow loosestrife plants will show no trace of purple.

In my garden, early purple can be seen on asters, tulips, goldenrod, columbine, peonies, bleeding heart, and lilacs.

*Apologies to Robert Frost. We are still a few weeks away from the transformation Frost describes in his poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay. When that happens, my children shall have to endure my annual recitation.

Winter's Done

Finally. The last patch of ice in my garden melted this evening. It made a valiant effort to survive the warm temperatures -- the first time we've had 70 degree weather since last October -- but finally disappeared.

Good riddance.

Last year, my garden was free of ice on March 25.

Among the signs of Spring today: insects. I saw a couple of flies and one butterfly.

Enough Already

You know it's a lousy day in Minnesota when I start thinking that it might be nice to live in Brooklyn. Ann Althouse is posting lovely photos from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Here in Minnesota, we got another dose of winter.


My tulips had it easy. Last night, I was up north and had to drive 85 miles through the snow to get home. There were times I couldn't see the road; I just followed the red lights of the tractor trailer ahead of me.

Gotta give a nod to Neza, who pretty much knew what kind of photo I was going to post today.

More Spring

Prairie Smoke, Geum triflorum

Last fall, I transplanted three Prairie Smoke plants to my front boulevard. I'm delighted to see that at least two of them have survived.

Today I spotted my favorite sign of spring: worm castings. There's still some snow and ice on the north side of my house and garage, but I expect that will be gone soon.

First Rain

A gentle spring rain fell today. It was warm enough that I didn't mind walking around in it, snapping photos. More tulips and crocus are popping up.