Rain is melting down all the snow cover. It is the typical January thaw -just a bit late. I heard the ground hog saw his shadow, so this year I can check the accuracy of the old saw. We should have the longer winter season.

Now that Bill Murray made the Ground Hog Day movie... that is what I always think about when someone mentions the February 2nd designation. I think I've seen the movie one too many times.... instead of the more elegant term "deja vue" ...... we say "Ground Hog Day" around here. Now there is culture deterioration. And the heretical idea that the French might be right about something.

I don't like going out side in this weather. Maybe I am picky about winter weather. Cold, but not too cold. Nice white snow, but no ice or slush. Blustery winds, but no bone-chilling blasts. Sitting around a fire, but no errands to run. Time to read books and make my garden plans, with no bills to pay and worry about. Too picky. The unnatural expectations of the armchair gardener.

Which reminds me. When we imagine work in the yard, I have found we usually underestimate the actual effort involved. It isn't until we are deep into the digging and hauling and pulling that we begin to pace our plans to our physical prowess.

Benjamin Franklin

"The eye of the master will do more work than both his hands."

I have been doing some reading. The combination of two books gave me some thoughts on garden journaling. One a scrapbooking how-to describes a grandmothers beloved scrapbook which was filled with carefully cutout pictures of things like fruits and vegetables, etc. and the other book was a modern version of the Country Diary I posted on, earlier.

The idea was that if we don't have the artistic desire to watercolor our journals, we could use scrapbooking techniques to brighten them up. That is, if we want something more than utilitarian notes. It was just an idea.
Here are the books I was reading:

The Painted Garden is full of modern watercolor flowers and many garden related quotes in handwriting form. For my taste, I prefer the Country Garden Diary, but this has its appeal, too.

Karen Platt

Received an email from this lady, and her books look tempting. Anyone who wishes to build black/purple or golden foliaged plants into their garden vocabulary might take a look for her books. I am curious , myself.

For those in Seattle, she says she has a book signing:
"I am at the Seattle flower Show on 4th Feb 2004 speaking about color in thegarden and signing my new book"

Which is coming right up......

Been awhile. I have spent most of my time inside, since the temperatures plunged and there is either snow or freezing rain. There was a day with freezing fog, that is always pretty as it laces all the twigs and bushes with a frosted sugar coating.

I have one catalogue so far, the Bluestone one. I haven't had time to make my list, but the sooner I do and actually send in an order, the more likely to get the selections I want. I read some garden advice that is worth thinking about: accept no substitutions in the order when you have chosen based on certain attributes. I just never thought of that.

It is time soon to test the viability of the seeds held over from last year. You stick some in a moist paper towel ( keeping slightly moist with a bit of bottom warmth... then you see how many of the seeds sprout. The percentage is supposed to give you an idea of the germination viability. You can also read up on what seeds are known for longevity and which ones have short viability. The experiment with the towel is easier. I have to find where I stashed those leftover seeds, first.

Yes, highly disorganized. That is me.

I have been reading some gardening books, however. Haven't made this years plans yet.... but I am considering chewing up yet more sod and making an area nearer the house, with more sunlight as well, for the tomatoes. The garage area is not sunny enough, since I had forgotten about the trees keeping off the afternoon sun.

The birds have stript off most berries and regularly make appearance outside my window foraging the pyracantha. It is so cold that I hope my new lavenders make it through this winter. They didn't have any snow cover in the worst of the low temperatures, and lavenders can be iffy in my climate. I was glad I had interspersed with rue and iberis. At least if I have to start the lavenders over, there will be something of the sidewalk hedge left.

I need to remember that I want to plant lots of marigolds this year. They discourage nematodes.

Lots of bright gold marigolds! That sounds so cheerful :)

Garden Catalogs

I did end up sending for some catalogs. I used my garden page on catalogs to go to the sites of my favorites. And while I was at it , checked on the availability of reseda odorata -aka mignonette. That particular page of mine is coded in the old style, I really should update it to match the other garden pages.

I bookmarked sites of new catalogs that looked promising. But for some reason can't find my bookmarks.... I probably did something creative >:p with them, and now have to go looking. Maybe they are on a different browser or something.

Note to self: Update some of the older garden pages
Make new folder in bookmarks for catalogs

I should actually organize my garden bookmarks better. They are getting away from me...

UPDATE: I did make all the pages new shiny on my own domain!

It is time to decide whether to use catalog purchasing or wait to find things at the local nurseries. I often have opted for the nurseries for several reasons: larger sizes and more control over choosing my own plants for healthiness.

But catalogs sometimes have an edge. One thing is the real problem of "spontaneous buying". Having no real plan ...but that plant just looks so pretty. I'll buy it! Then scrambling to find a good placement.

Besides the fact that many of my favorite local places either closed up or greatly reduced choices.

One thing I must do this year is get my annual seeds by catalog. The stores just do not carry some of my old favorites and I have gone without mignonette (reseda odorata) for several years now >:(

Gardeners get attached to such things...certain plants, certain fragrances; they are like old friends or Proustian memories .

It is not too late to send for some catalogs. I think I will do it online tonight. One of the things I like about the web.

Freezing cold. This is typical beginning for January in Ohio, a little later than usual, but now it feels like winter. It looks like one of those years when whether one mulched the roses will make a difference.

Though I am not much for diaries, I have always been a list person. Lists help me think, but more important for me, help with accomplishment. They keep the direction and focus. Some people need that more than others, or maybe they just like to make their lists?

So. What do I list?

Plants I want to buy. Garden chores I want to accomplish and when. Plant combinations to try. Garden design ideas and projects. If determined to get things in a particular catalog, I list the plants and their prices and reduce the choices if I have to, before sending the final invoice and check.

Things like that. These are good for journal entries, so some of it may even find its way into the garden journal online, here.

It is a way of making the cold cabin fever days pass with a feeling that each season has its purpose. A way to be thankful for the quietness and restrictions of the winter.

Making a Garden Journal

Years ago I read some advice on making a garden journal, which I subsequently ignored in my chutzpah assurance that I would always be as involved with the process as I was at that time. The advice was to write the names of the plants which I had planted, and to label and record their locatiion.

In the midst of the enthusiasm and priority time I once had in my garden I thought I would always have handy the latin nomenclature and the growing requirements at the tip of my tongue.

The arrogance of youth.

While it is interesting to record climate variables, the information most useful for gardening through the years are the names of the plants and observing ( and notating) how they grow in your garden.

Keeping track of the various bits of information such as type of soil and what the ph and nutrient needs of your particular space on the earth holds is also helpful.

Many variety names come and go.... looking for those which are your favorites and keeping track of experiences with catalogs and nurseries is good use for the journaling. Delightful combinations and their bloomtimes should be a definite standard.

But it all depends on your style. I am no diarist at heart. But for those who are, I think a garden journal would be most satisfactory. All the lists that are long lost would have been useful to me now. Scattered in old notebooks, most of them ended up in the trash, I am afraid.

If only something as simple and easy as blogging had been available? Hmmm. The ephemeral nature of online services means there are no guarantees.

Actually, those Victorian notebooks such as "The Country Diary" are the ultimate. If even for a season.....

Rain and more rain. Huge amounts of ponding throughout the area. It is supposed to turn to snow tonight... but whatever it turns to I do not want to go out. I don't want to think about problems from all this water, either.

I have a Bromeliad from my father's house. Will need to read up a bit on care. It needs repotting, for sure. My geranium is doing well. I should have saved the others! Pelargoniums ( the actual name) are some of my favorite plants.