Spring has sprung! Or has it?
I don't know what it is like in your part of the country, but spring is struggling to emerge here.
The last two mornings it has been 26 degrees. I feel sorry for the plants that were fooled a few days ago by the 80 degree weather and came out of hiding. I think my peonies grew a foot taller overnight.
But the birds are tired of waiting and are taking up housekeeping.
I love bluebirds and am glad to see they have decided to occupy this birdhouse. The past few years the barn swallows have presided there. I'm not too partial to them. When I'm out in the yard and they swoop through the air catching insects, I could swear they are after me and not the insects!
Back in December I posted here about cutting off dried hydrangeas, painting them red and placing them in pots outside for decoration.
I was lazy and didn't take them out. A few days ago I noticed that the sticks had leaves on them. They apparently have taken root!
You can't tell too much by the above picture, but there are green leaves on almost all of the sticks. I didn't know you could propagate hydrangeas this way. If I had tried to grow new ones, I probably wouldn't have succeeded.
I hope all of you are doing well and hopefully, someday soon, spring will emerge from hiding.
We always had barn swallows in our barn. When we mowed hay or clipped pasture, you'd think they were going to knock your hat off as they ganged up on the bugs the cutter-bar would flush out.
ReplyDeleteI know. I don't like it when they swoop down around me.
DeleteI agree, it's been b-r-r-r-r-ery cold for this time of year. I think we're about two weeks behind our usual spring weather. I have a feeling it's going to be a hot, dry summer. I hope I am wrong. Love the hydrangea surprise! That is just so cool.
ReplyDeleteHi Susanna. The hydrangea's are still growing!
DeleteWe can't seem to warm up either. The garden's just having to wait for warmer weather. I've had hydrangeas root from a stem that was lying on the ground underneath the parent plant but hadn't thought about stems rooting. I've put lime around one of mine, trying to get it to have pink blooms.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment about my rusty planter. A few years ago, a brother-in-law shut down his poultry houses and sold a lot of these old feeders to a woman who wanted them for light fixtures. Now I just hope the hens and chicks will grow for me.
Do you know the Barnwood Builders? I love seeing the West Virginia area they come from.
Hi, Charlotte. I hope they grow for you, too. I watch the Barnbuilders, too. I like that show.
DeleteSpring is slow in arriving in the Midwest, too. Another week of rain and then MAYBE warmer temps will stay. That hydrangea idea is wonderful. Have a great week Janet.
ReplyDeleteHi, Linda. Thanks, and I hope your weather gets better.
DeleteI love your bluebird photos. Spring comes and goes here down South. April 20th I set out some tomato plants and they were frozen by frost. Later that week it was 80 degrees. This weather is really unusual.
ReplyDeleteHi, Brenda. I wouldn't dare put out tomato plants yet. Weather here is too up and down.
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