Spring is whispering its arrival this month

“There’s one good thing about snow, it makes your lawn look as nice as your neighbor’s.”

That might be the only comfort at this point in March. Mountains of snow still peak at the end of my driveway and continue in a ridge up to the garage. The temperatures are rising but it is hard to imagine that this amount of snow will ever give way to a green lawn with dandelions anytime soon.

However, if you look closely at the swelling flower buds on the shrubs and trees, spring is working behind the scenes. Maybe it won’t be so long after all.

Daisies?

It is December 22nd. Snow covered the yard—twice today. We shoveled twice. I baked two Swedish coffeecakes. I fed my two cats. I drank 2 cups of coffee.

However, I only have one daisy, still left from the garden—believe it or not. I couldn’t, so I took a picture of it to remember that I still had a daisy flower at Christmas time. The plants themselves are frozen or look it—as they poke their broken stems through the snow drift... and I pile more snow on their heads.

As I downloaded my camera, I came across photos taken of my garden and others last spring and summer and fall. How come I didn’t see the beauty as clearly as I do right now? Did I need the combination of Christmas lights and green, lush plantings to appreciate either of them? Enough said...I will post some of them later. The daisy is the miracle right now.

Light greens gone until next year...

I can’t believe how quickly the leaves have dropped from the trees over the last few days. It seems that I just took this photo in mid-October, when the woods were just starting to change color. Now on November 1st, when I look outside my windows, the large Maple trees have shed their golden canopy and the petite Japanese maple stands naked with scarlet plumage at its feet. The old oaks refuse to give up half of their pointy, reddish-brown leaves, just to extend the raking season for me.

Actually, nature was right on schedule as the leaves on the ground provided the annual ‘crunchy noise’ ambience for the trick or treaters last night.

Clean Hands Spritz

Yield: 1 ounce

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon plain aloe vera or lemon witch hazel
1/8 teaspoon tea tree oil
24 drops of essential oils of lavender, lemon, cinnamon, peppermint and/or thyme (use 2 or more for good action and a
balanced aroma, and also because these oils are potent).
4 drops of grapefruit seed extract

Mix all the ingredients in a 1-ounce glass spray bottle (available at natural food stores and online or reuse a bottle that something else came in).

Shake well before using.

Spray 2 or 3 times on dirty hands and rub them together.

Note: Use this to sanitize hands on the go. It has an indefinite shelf life. Add a handwritten label for a nice touch—use an address label or simply tape one on with clear shipping tape. Give bottles of this spritz as gifts during the winter holidays or when colds and the flu are rampant. —Easy Green Living by Renee Loux

More than a whispering...

I know that I felt a hint of fall in the air a few weeks ago before there were any signs, at all.
Now, I am sure that autumn is lurking, even as we try to celebrate the last summer holiday, Labor Day. Earlier, the rainy days came and were followed by clear and sunny ones with no humidity. The oaks are starting their long process of dropping leaves and my show-off Japanese maple is shifting to a brighter red. Still, we will be a bit in denial as we drag out the BBQ and hot dogs, trying to believe that the warm sun is still a summer one.
I should be sad, but I look actually look forward to the beautiful brights and tawny tones of this coming season. Hiking, actually walking, in the Rollins Savanna near my house gives me the full, fall experience with the high grasses, dried and tanned by the sun, sky-high, yellow flowers—prairie dock, late sunflowers—that fall scent of so much green turning to crunchy brown—gravel underfoot, birds flitting, swooping or riding high. It is the full 360 degree show of autumn. Enjoy the long, sultry weekend and what’s to come.

Specialty catalogs offer a selection of lily bulbs

1. McClure and Zimmerman. Call 1-800-883-6998 or order online at www.mzbulb.com. Highlights: ‘Casablanca’; a popular and fragrant white Oriental lily.
2. White Flower Farm. Call 1-800-503-9624 or order online at www. white flowerfarm.com. Highlights: ‘True Colors Mix’; pure, bold colors light up your garden like a firecracker.
3. Brent and Becky’s Bulbs. Call 1-877-661-2852 or order online at www. brentandbeckysbulbs.com. Highlights: Lilium Regale; great for the evening garden.
4. Old House Gardens. Call 1-734-995-1486 or order online at www.old housegardens.com. Highlights: ‘Black Beauty’; gorgeous turk’s cap flowers of dark raspberry, edged in silver—long lived and ‘indestructible’.
5. Van Engelen. Call (860)567-8734 or browse their website at www.vanengelen.com. Highlights: Asiatic Pixie lilies; short, sturdy stems.

Rain hogs

I have become more interested in rain gardens this year because of the huge amount of water that has fallen this spring.
I think we actually broke a record for June. I have talked with so many people who have diverted their excess water into garden beds, ponds and even little creeks that connect the ponds. David Husemoller from www.EarthWildGardens.com was featured in the GreenHouse page in the Chicago Sun-Times on 7.04.09. He practices the art of sustainable landscaping and offers many native water loving plants such as Blue Flag Iris, Cardinal Flower, Obedient Plant, Cup Plant and Golden Alexander, through his company, Earth Wild Gardens. Give it a try!