An April Fools joke from Nature

For the past couple weeks we have been bustling around the backyard getting ready for the growing season. But Nature was planning a 'winter weather advisory' as an April Fools joke for us. 

Lilac

Believe me, these are pictures not from January or February or March... but APRIL. The grass is turning green and many trees and bushes are about to burst with greenery as well. We just happened to get an arctic blast that sent our temperatures below average and ... what normally what would have been April showers, turned to several inches of snow over the past two days (last night we received 5-6 inches alone). It's a good lesson to pay attention to the calendar no matter how warm a week or two can be... it's still too early for a lot of things. 

In the last week alone my boyfriend did some major work around the orchard: cleaning up around the asparagus bed and pruning the fruit trees. Our plum trees are looking great with tons of blossoms ready to pop- at least on one of them (we are suspecting the two different varieties are blossoming at different times, which is preventing us from getting fruit). He even ordered some new trees to plant, since we got rid of a sickly/dying apple tree awhile back. Note: if you order fruit trees, I highly recommend getting them from a local nursery... they are plants already well adapted to your area. The apple trees that are thriving the best, came from a local nursery.

the sunny garden

When I mention I spent time in my garden, my friends usually ask if I have anything planted yet... my standard response is that it's too early. But to be sure, this is the time of year to do a great deal of preparation for your garden beds and soil. With slightly cooler temperatures, it's actually an ideal time to do all the most physical chores you might have to pull off: digging, mulching, adding soil amendments, turning the compost, etc. Think of it as a period of time that nature provides you with some natural air conditioning. Once it really warms up, it becomes increasingly more difficult to efficiently pull off heavy physical work.

I've been bustling about doing various work with the soil in the gardens. Yes, that is plural. I have adopted my boyfriends garden, which previously he established for his mother when she lived with us for a few years. Now I'm allowed a certain free range in there... which I'm thrilled about because it's also the SUNNIEST part of the yard. While he already has garlic growing in there that he planted last fall, the plan is to have tomatoes, peppers and squash rotated here this year. Right now... it's covered in snow. But I have been doing work out there cultivating soil, cleaning up plant debris, and choking out sod (most of it's area is still well established lawn). Establishing beds in this garden is going to be a task.

Cardinal in the Quince bush

In Mega Garden, I've been finishing up various things like raking up leaves from last autumn, rooting up persistent cold tolerant weeds (you got to get them when they are young!), fluffing the soil in the double dug beds, and doing maintenance on some of the mulched pathways. It would be better if I had pictures to explain, but it's covered in snow. Maybe the local birds will finally appreciate the bird feeder that I keep faithfully filled for them. I wonder what robins do in freak situations like this? Hopefully this will be the last of winter... which ironically was infamously not very wintry this year at all. I find myself grateful for a mini vacation from yard work. Most of all, I'm grateful that the trees had not yet gotten their leaves- this much snow would have caused so much damage if the trees had leaves (and a reminder that loosing their leaves is a most necessary adaptation that allows them to survive winter with their branches intact).

Hyacinth