Ready for spring ...

I LOVE DAFFODILS! They are so cheerful and forgiving of the weather. They pop their heads up around St. Patrick's Day in our area. Over the years of buying bulbs, I have acquired about 20 different ones with different blooming cycles (ok, so I'm not a botanist!) and they make me smile for about a month while they take their turns showing off.
I have been negligent in my postings. Hilary keeps commenting on the fact. She, on the other hand, posts regularly. What can I say, I've been preoccupied with other things.
What things? you might ask ...
My studio was selected to be featured in a newspaper article to be published this summer (more later). The interview and photo shoot were in March, but my husband and I had to open a WHOLE BUNCH of flower beds a lot earlier than we normally would so that the place would look better. He also decided we needed to paint the fence ... 17 sections, front and back. Bless his heart. My apprentice, Stephanie, got called in to help and it took 3 days (times 3 people) to complete the job. Daffodils were just starting to open and I finished my "plate wattle" in time. Technically, it's not a wattle, but it replaced two stick wattles beside the walk that had been there for two years and really wanted to return to the earth so I pulled them out and started adding plates, first from a potter friend who was cleaning her studio, then from my husband's forays at a couple thrift shops. I think he did an excellent job of picking the plates, don't you?

So, the interview went well and the gardens were opened and growing. We had a couple snow warnings, but not much came our way.
A few trays have been planted in the greenhouse and now it's time to water and wait.
I love spring!

Spring in Brown County

Spring has come later than usual to our area (or so it seems). For me, that was good, because I was "snowed under" with computer work ... websites, taxes, copy editing. So now that most of that work is behind me, I am enjoying getting outside and uncovering the flower beds. The daffodils and narcissus (narcissi?) are up and beautiful ... we have about 20 different varieties. The other good thing is the deer don't eat them, like they do about everything else. The day lilies, tulips, hostas and hyacinths are eaten as soon as they pop up. We've tried various methods to deter the deer but nothing is foolproof. This year, I'm going to try adding some habenero hot sauce to their daylily salad and see how they like it. Today we're planting some trees that we got from the Arbor Day Foundation. I also want to start some seeds in our little greenhouse ... peppers, zinnias, maybe tomatoes. I'm ready for spring now!