Still Indoors

Since I write a monthly article, it is February when this one is written. We have had some 139 inches of snow ( 3.5 meters ) for the year so far, just slightly more than our average of 120 inches. Outdoor gardening is but a wisp of a dream. Deep snow does not discourage the local deer. At least the tops of the hicksi Yews are out of their reach. The rabbits have a harder time. Their tracks in the snow are a series of holes as they must leap high to clear the depth of snow into which each leap has taken them. They eat the younger stems of the Euonymus alatus and girdle the larger ones. The deeper the snow, the higher they eat. Come spring ( I must be a incredible optimist to believe that there will be a spring ) I will find out just what all the critters have left me. I do not have the heart to wade through the snow now to take account. Besides, they have not yet finished their dining.

Any gardening must be indoors. At this time of year, my own flowers are scarce. Just now, only the Walking Iris is in fleeting bloom indoors. Although the flowers last for but a single day, they do bring hope that better times may be coming. Each flower is on a long leader. After blooming, a new baby plant develops. This may be easily rooted while still attached to the mother plant and separated after roots form. In this manner it "walks" in the wild and can be an exotic, introduced pest. In reflected light, the petals are pure white. In diffuse light they are suffused with shades of blue-gray. Originally from Brazil, it requires warm climes to survive winters outdoors. It would never make it where I live. We used to have winters that got as cold as -20°F ( -29°C ). The coldest this winter was only -8°F. That's cold enough for me.

Last fall I set aside several pots of dwarf daffodils for forcing. Since being brought into a warmer spot they are developing very slowly. At the rate they are coming along, the worst part of the winter may be over before they flower. Well, at least a fire in the hearth will warm my heart while

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