Saturday, May 14, 2011

Rainy Day Gardening Frustration

It's another cold, wet day in Wisconsin, frustration time for a gardener ready to attack her flower beds.

Until Memorial Day here in the north, there's always a chance of a frost, so I am never able to do much more than clear the gardens. When the angst builds up, I start plants in trays indoors.  Right now I have forty five assorted tomato plants, each five inches tall. That may be excessive so I'll give some away to friends.  There are ninety-nine flowers coming up in the trays, almost ready to be planted, everything from alyssum to zinnias.  But not today.

Outside, there are geraniums in pots, but only in small containers that I can move when the forecast is for frost.  Then they will be plopped in the wheelbarrow and moved into the warmth of the garage for the night. (That may happen tomorrow night.) The biggest planters will wait until that magic day, June 1.

Over the last week, I've planted some seeds in the gardens, but those were packed in 2008. I ran across them this winter. They are old seeds that may or may not sprout.  If the frost gets any shoots that do come up, nothing will be lost except for my time.

Today, with drizzle, I did the ultimate.  I bought fake ivy at a rummage sale and stuck it into the window boxes, so that at least there, I can see greenery.  

So it is that I deal with time and temperature.  

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