Every day that passes now tells me that spring is coming. The days are longer, the first winter jasmine is out. And so we gleefully launch into tasks that boldly believe the freeze is over. Here are six end-of-winter happenings in my garden. For more, head on over to The Propagator's blog and his Six-on-Saturday posts!
1. Planting:
Remember the desolate fenced area I had shown earlier? I have now decided that it will be a gold and white seating area.There is already forsythia and azalea, but this year I will add hypericum and berberis, narcissus and lycoris. In the meantime for a quick (non gold and white) fix I have transplanted my phlox. The twigs are to protect from chickens, the pine needles are to protect from frost and sun.
2. Acorn collection: CHIRAG, that works on all things environmental in the area, has started collecting acorns for the spring sowing. The forests have been decimated by over-exploitation and increased occurrence of forest fires. Regular sowing will help conserve these for the future. Our house has become the centre for seed collection in the neighbourhood. Children have their winter holidays now and are encouraged to collect acorns and bring them over. They get Rs.12/kg, which is a good sum for a bit of pocket money.
3. Bordeaux time: Buds are sprouting on the fruit trees and roses. Which means it is that time of year when I use the household utensils to process chemicals. We make a bordeaux mixture every year to spray the peaches and roses with. One day of spraying, and Peach Curl and Black Spot are held at bay!
4. Feeding the bees: And last week the Himalayan Cherries were through with flowering. Mian and I opened up our hive to give the bees some jaggery. Not much development since autumn, but atleast they are alive..need to learn more about bee keeping.
5. Winter is still here though. And so I am continuing to sprout grain for the chickens.
6. And in case you think Mian and I are the only ones working here, here's a photo of the Great Tunnel
1. Planting:
Remember the desolate fenced area I had shown earlier? I have now decided that it will be a gold and white seating area.There is already forsythia and azalea, but this year I will add hypericum and berberis, narcissus and lycoris. In the meantime for a quick (non gold and white) fix I have transplanted my phlox. The twigs are to protect from chickens, the pine needles are to protect from frost and sun.
2. Acorn collection: CHIRAG, that works on all things environmental in the area, has started collecting acorns for the spring sowing. The forests have been decimated by over-exploitation and increased occurrence of forest fires. Regular sowing will help conserve these for the future. Our house has become the centre for seed collection in the neighbourhood. Children have their winter holidays now and are encouraged to collect acorns and bring them over. They get Rs.12/kg, which is a good sum for a bit of pocket money.
2 comments:
We have a great tunnel here, courtesy the Big Nose dog. Perhaps our 2 friends will meet in the middle. The twig & pine protector looks like an art installation - too bad it'll have to go but your description of the gold & white place sounds wonderful. Can't wait for photos in a few months. Why do you sprout the grain for the chickens?
I love that you let your pups dig in the garden too!
The chickens don't get any greens now. So I try to meet their nutrition requirements by sprouting. I also give them kitchen peelings, but that isn't enough.
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