Loving Spring!

                                     yellow roses from our backyard

How my EarthBox grows!

The seedlings continue to grow well in the EarthBox. Here we have planted three types of lettuce, four cucumbers and a few short rows of carrots. This is the result so far from seed planting. In the past we have grown spaghetti squash, okra and sunflowers in the box with success.
So I've basically planted a salad in a box. In the garden I have a few spring onions and radishes. It's fun to watch it all grow.

Spring has come to the Carolinas

photo: Kissing daffodils by J.J. Fields

After the cold and sometimes icy days of winter, dry skin, chopping and hauling wood, spring is a welcome sight. The daffodils, raise their pretty little heads, and announce the arrival of spring.
Spring is when the earth warms and becomes fruitful with new grow. The air begins to stir with activity. Butterflies begin to flutter about, spreading sparks of color. Humming bird feeders are taken out, cleaned and prepared for a new season of speedy visitors. And serious spring cleaning begins.

Some of the Carolina's early blooming flowers are irises, crocuses, and azaleas. Azaleas are a native plant which is hardy and easy to grow. This evergreen plant provides texture and color to the landscape year round with some varieties bursting with new blooms early spring.

A sure sign of spring in this area is pollen and a lot of it. The major contributing party here is the pine tree. With about 12 varieties there is no shortage of pollen producers. The distinct yellow dusting of yard, porch, and vehicles becomes common place. Pollen sticks to clothing and hair and triggers many allergies. Pollen may deter some but the true southerners still throw up the windows to air the house out.

Then there are other signs, the kind we may appreciate even less. The fire ants, busy builders and determined warriors, are on the move. The great nemesis they are, they scamper ever ready to invade and irritate. Oh, they never really go away, but burst out with renewed energy come spring. The fight is on!