So excited to have you see it–please join us at the new and improved Minerva’s Garden.  We are located at http://minervasgarden.com.

Athena at Minerva’s Garden

Now, what in the world is up with the weather?  (Can you say climate change–why yes, yes, I can.)  We haven’t had much cold weather, one day of snow in January.  (You know it’s warm here when the agapanthus hasn’t died back at all, and it isn’t even covered with plastic or anything–that’s a zone 9 plant!)  All of my fruit trees are breaking dormancy already, as are all the roses.  NONE of my bulbs are blooming yet, and normally by this time of year I have snowdrops, crocus and winter aconite in bloom, not to mention sarcococa shrub flowers.  The winter jasmine is loving the warm weather, as is the Chinese witch hazel, and they are blooming away.  All I am seeing is some bulb greenery coming up.

My greens under plastic were in fabulous shape and we were eating off them a fair amount until the snow.  I haven’t had a chance to even go out to look under the plastic in a while, but that will be a project for one of these upcoming sunny days, perhaps tomorrow or Saturday.  Hopefully all is well, and I suspect it will be, because the snow didn’t crush the hoops or plastic coverings. 

My baby lettuces, radicchio and basil are growing away under lights.  I may just keep them around, and if this weather keeps up, plant them out under the plastic (of course, not the basil–it’s way too cold for them to be outside, even covered.)

What’s the weather like in your neck of the woods?  Do you have any early bulbs in bloom yet?  Let me know down in the comments!

The weather reports are saying that we might get a bit of snow tonight through Tuesday, so if you are living in the area and haven’t done so, you may want to take today to protect any sensitive plants that are still lingering outdoors.  I have salad greens outside under two and three layers of clear plastic, and so far this winter they have done great!  I picked a big bowlful of them last week, which we thoroughly enjoyed in our Saturday Cesar Salad and homeade pizza tradition.  With winter salad green production, because the temperatures have been so cold, it takes the plants much longer to recover and regrow than in warmer summer months, so I’ll have to wait a while before I can pick again, but still, it’s great to have some fresh produce from the garden! 

As you may remember from a previous post, I have some basil and lettuce and radicchio growing under lights indoors as well.  They are still pretty small, but the lettuce is about ready to pick at the baby stage, with leaves about four inches long, so that will be an additional source of greens for us.

Would love to hear from you–feel free to leave a message.  Do you do any winter vegetable gardening?  Will it be snowy in your area this weekend–let me know, because I love to hear from you!

I hope you enjoy the winter solstice and celebrate it in a festive fashion!

I have a confession–

Lettuce, radicchio and basil starts under lights, Winter Solstice 2011

I have baby-sized basil, lettuce and radicchio growing under lights in the basement.  This gardening stuff is like an addiction, is it not?  Ever the gardening optimist am I.  I’ve already re-potted it up into four inch pots, and from there they’ll go into one-gallon-size pots.  We’ll see what comes of it–hopefully some useable comestables in the bleak winter months.

I’ve already got my eye on early spring as well . . .

Pelargonium hanging out under lights, Winter Solstice 2011

Pink and green will figure prominently after the Winter holidays around the house.  They will spend the winter and spring indoors under lights and in good natural light throughout the house, and then come May they will go back to their rightful spot in my hanging baskets and containers out in the garden.  These are the Energizer Bunny of flowers–they bloom all year long if you water and fertilize them.

If you like, leave a comment.

Ribes sanguineum, Red-Flowering Currant, in my garden blooming in April, along with hyacinth and narcisus

After the flowers on the red-flowering currant are done, the leaves on the shrub turn green, and it looks pretty unremarkable for the summer.  But this is what happens in the fall:

'Arnold Promise' in bloom in the winter

The  spider-webby flowers are beautiful, especially against the grey stonework  and grey sky of the Pacific Northwest in the wintertime, but here is what it looks like in the autumn:

'Arnold' in October

Go;den foliage of "Arnold Promise' Chinese witch hazel in November

We have had rain, so it has dropped some leaves, but what a beautiful plant.

Paperwhite bulbs starting to bloom

Today, November 7th, is the best day to pot up paperwhite bulbs if you’d like them in bloom for the winter holidays.  So easy–put potting soil in virtually any container that is at least one-gallon size deep and wider is better, plant the bulbs so they are completely covered with soil, water it in, and put it in the garage.  You want it to be somewhere where it won’t freeze but will be below 50 degrees, and where it is dark–you can cover the container with newspaper, and that works well.  Then wait.  By December, there will be green shoots coming up out of the soil.  When they are about two to three inches tall, you can bring the pot up, water it and place it in front of a bright window–I put mine in the dining room on the south side of the house, and it gets good light here.  They should be blooming near the end of the month, and will bloom into January (and who doesn’t need some fresh blooming flowers in January?)  These are annuals for me, so I usually just compost them when they finish blooming.  I’ve tried planting these outside to get them to rebloom outdoors next year, but they never really do much, even with fertilizer–they kind of give their all the first year and that’s about it, at least that has been my experience with them. 

Give it a try–it’s super easy and worth it!  Leave me a comment and let me know if you’re growing some paperwhites this year, and how you like to use them around the house in the winter season.