I'm excited about the slight possibility that the 4-ft. high piles of snow will melt away by July. I'm thrilled at the notion that I'll be able to have my huge wool sweater surgically removed when I no longer need to heat the house. I'm mildly elated to hear a cardinal courting near the bird feeder after a winter of sparrows only. But most of all I'm happy that I intend to get in the car and drive for 2 days by midweek, in order to walk around amongst blooming camellias in Charleston SC! Wearing a T-shirt! (me, not the camellias.) Blooming lush and full and gorgeous! (the camellias, not me.)

So although I'd like to be positive and upbeat about living in New England, NOT in the middle of February and a storm. The gigantic pile of seed catalogues next to the computer is a thin gruel of expectation to survive on.

time,
Against my better judgment I am enlarging my moss garden by about one third. Moss has a much longer growing season than many other plants so I will be doing this at the end of March or early April.
I am curious to see what shrubs planted last fall on my berm/garbage pile will have survived the challenge of growing on a berm. I will also be improving the irrigation to that area this spring.
I don't have a plant lust list just yet as I want to see how what I have already weathered the winter. This is the year that a number of young plants need to move to their permanent homes..oh how I love to move plants around.

What is new to my garden are several plants that Deb dug for me last fall from her garden. I am indeed looking forward to them - especially the alliums and siberian irises!

Unfortunately Deb, if you are reading in between moving, none of my cuttings made it. I just can't keep things in the house over winter! I rooted all of them (buddleia, hydrangea, callicarpa) and they all took, but could not survive the rigors of my living room. There is one hydrangea that I might be able to resuscitate, but I can't tell yet.

Actually, my biggest anticipation is more like trepidation. The snow came so early this winter that I didn't have time to pull all my potted perennials into the garage. So they spent the winter out on the driveway under the snow. I think for the most part they'll be okay, but I'll have to see what survived and what didn't.

:)
Dee

I've got more trepidation than anticipation, too. As a zone pusher, there are a lot of plants in my garden that don't normally survive single digits. I'm hoping that the unusual snow cover we had here offered some protection ...

On the other hand, I recently got a card from Bluestone reminding me that they would be shipping me some little Daphnes this spring. It was a variety Ego had recommended, as I recall. Now where the heck am I going to put those, I wonder?

I just talked to a friend in Maine where they got 24 inches of snow yesterday! We might have gotten about 6". We moved in May 2007 and did major renovations to the house. Our son and DIL bought our old house and didn't want any of the plants. I spent the rest of the summer transplanting things into two temporary beds. A new porch was planned so I was planning to put a new garden around the porch but the porch plans have been put on hold. But late last year my husband finished putting stone steps down a steep bank from the front of the garage to the back of the house. I am looking forward to putting the shade tolerant plants into their permanent home. I planted a small viburnum and cotoneaster by the short path to the kitchen entry porch. I wanted something the birds would like but didn't want a viburnum that would get too large.
This summer, like last, the vegetable garden will get a lot of time and effort. We added two more 'lasagna' beds. The winter squash production was fantastic. The heirloom peppers were planted on the south side of the house under the DR windows. The heirloom cherry tomatoes around the entry porch. One temporary flower bed is in a good location so I will make some soil improvements as things are removed but I need to make a plant map.
But, our living room was just re-done so all my garden and herb books were neatly put back into dusted bookcases so I've accomplished that much.

Yes, I am really beginning to feel it as well. I am anticipating that first warmish day I can wear a t-shirt outside. I am also anticipating our trip to Mexico in April, since at this rate there will likely still be snow on the ground here. :-)

Since I won't be able to dig new beds this year due to injury, I have to be content watching last year's new beds flourish. I am most looking forward to seeing what happens with the approximately 8 new peony roots I planted in October. I received them a bit late in the mail so they were not planted until mid-October, so I'm nervous. I'm hoping to get a bloom or three on at least half of them, as they were mostly good sized roots.

Also looking forward to watching the myriad plants I was graciously given at last Spring's CT swap fill in their spaces, especially the iris varieties, since I've never had iris before.

Warm wishes, everyone!

This webpage shows the current snowcover in New England. Just click on the snow depth map to expand it. There is a very sharp north-south transition from very deep snow to bare ground in New England. We have not had any snow on the ground for weeks here on the south coast. Even our piles are gone. But I am getting tired of looking at the brown ground. So as far as anticipation goes, I am thinking green.

Here is a link that might be useful: current snowcover map

Nice site rockman50! We're finally back down to brown ground after an unusually snowy winter.

I've been in garden denial while I watch the birds, but I was looking at a sparrow hopping through the dead perennials and noticed that the pieris buds are swelling. I have a number of different varieties of pieris and last year I relocated some to make a more coherent display. I'm really looking forward to these opening.

Claire

I am looking forward to seeing everything bloom for the first time in front of my house. I spent a few months carefully planning my front beds for a new house with a friend who is a student at NYBG. I am new to zone 5 and many of the plants we selected. (have been gardening in zone 10 for the last six years) So, everything will be a first for me and I am really excited.

Now, I have to run outside and see if my pieris are in bud yet. I know the magnolia is. :)

One of the things I love about my overgrown viburnum collection is the way some of them, like the leatherleaf (V. rhytidophyllum) form flowerbuds in the winter, although these don't actually open until maybe mid-spring. Just looking at the buds when it's f-f-f-freezing out there makes me feel more hopeful.

No buds whatsoever on the pieris. Disappointing...

>We're finally back down to brown ground after an unusually snowy winter.

And then, back to white. It's the word "after" and its connotation of "the end of winter" that gets us unto trouble, especially here near the coast.

It's not over, apparently - but the end IS still in sight (you just have to squint).

Sigh. The only thing we seem to be anticipating today is 5 to 9 inches of snow...

:(
Dee

The ground's white again here too - the latest snow forecast doesn't look too bad for us here, although others may get clobbered. For us, it will probably be the dreaded "Wintry Mix". Slush, sleet, freezing rain, an inch or two of token snow...

NWS Storm Total Snow Forecast

I wonder if this map as linked will stay constant as of March 2, or change when the forecast changes.

Claire

The map changed, so the link stays current. Apparently the storm track has shifted a bit east. Annoying, because I have to drive north tomorrow morning. Well, so long as they plow my rural dirt road early it'll be OK.

Claire

Darn, my part of CT isn't covered in this map. Maybe it's just as well. Maybe I don't want to know, lol.

:)
Dee
Ooh! Or maybe it means I'm not getting snow? Yeah, right...

Not anticipation but depression! A huge snowstorm has hit and even the fact that the schools are closed here in CT (I'm a teacher and we enjoy snow days, too) hasn't helped lift my spirits. All those wonderful little sprouts I've been watching and rooting for are now under a foot of snow. The drifting and blowing winds make going outside to shovel a chore for later in the day.... maybe things will calm down?

So I've been looking at various photo galleries... vicarious pleasure.

Sad Molie here.

my answer to snow days- bake bread- yummy

LOL, newgardenelf, I was just sitting here contemplating baking some bread. Don't think I have any yeast in the house though - it's been quite awhile since I've baked bread.

Just picked up "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day" (or something like that) from the library, so if that method works, hopefully my bread-baking days will get going once again. The problem with baking bread is that you work for hours and hours and hours and then everyone eats ALL of it within ten minutes of it coming out of the oven, lol! And who can blame them? Especially on a snowy day?

:)
Dee

Hmm, bread. I almost made brownies last night 'just because'. We make enough homemade pizza and things that yeast is a staple, and I bought extra milk and eggs yesterday for the brownies. Munchkin is at a neighbor's house. They called school here too, but so far there isn't nearly enough snow to make it worthwhile. They are in trouble with the snowday count, but I guess the end is in sight? Right.

I started some seeds a couple of days ago, and am waiting for them to sprout. Right now they are just sitting on the dining room table. Usually, I put them on top of the fluorescent light ballasts for warmth, but the light stand is in the dining room so the cats can guard the sprouts from mice, and I'm afraid the cats would knock the containers over.

With the moderate temps last week, the snow cover had mostly melted here by Saturday. For one lousy day, you could see most of the ground. I poked around in the gardens and the pot ghetto, checking on plants, finding buds, or some basal foliage, and starting to feel excited about Spring coming. And then, BAM, it was all covered up with 10 inches of snow again. It was just a tease!!

It looks like lots of things have wintered over just fine underneath the nice blanket of snow we've had all winter. One (measly) good thing about persistent snow cover.

I've planted many shrub, tree, and perennial seedlings in the last year or 2, and particularly look forward to seeing which plants will bloom for the first time this year. It's so much fun seeing those first blooms - I love to be surprised - like opening a Christmas present!

Here's some eye candy to help wile away the snowy hours. I was trying to get some info on Murray Rosen, head gardener at Chalk Hill, the wonderful clematis nursery in Sonoma, and I came across the section of their site about the Mary Toomey Garden. If you click on the site plan and then on the name of one of the sections in the map, it takes you to some great photos of that area and a list of the plants there. My fave is the Pergola - somewhere I wrote down the name of the gorgeous climbing rose that covers it ...

Chalk Hill now sells only cut flowers, sadly. I'm glad I visited, but wish I'd brought home some plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mary Toomey Garden at Chalk Hill

Thanks for the link dtd I did order clematis from Chalk Hill in the past and was thrilled with the quality. The tour has caused me to think that I need MORE clematis, where are folks buying via mail order their clematis now?

Mad Gal,

I am officially nominating you for the New England forums golden pick axe award annually given to the strongest, bravest gardener!!!

but the light stand is in the dining room so the cats can guard the sprouts from mice, and I'm afraid the cats would knock the containers over.

What are you trying to dig holes with? A shovel is practically useless where I am. A digging fork, though it's very hard to find a good one, or a pickax are more useful. A shovel digs out loose soil, it doesn't loosen the soil to be dug out.

Golden pick axe award - that's a great idea. I was just outside experimenting with a pitch fork as a new way to loosen up the ice on a brick path, with mixed results. At least I didn't break any bricks, at least as far as I know.

Looks like we're in for a beautiful, warm weekend. If the forecast changes, please don't tell me. The end is in sight, and that's all I really care about. Daylight savings time is almost here, and spring can't be more than a couple of months behind, even here on the cape.

Hmm, with eight inches of snow on the ground, and temps in the 60's this weekend, I am anticipating a flooded basement. Keeping my fingers crossed that I'm wrong!

:)
Dee