I won't be gardening for awhile yet...

I have to admit I love the winter scenery. Its beautiful....

This is the view from my doorway to the driveway upper left. The sun on the snow across the lawn looks pretty.

Some of the trees never lost their brown leaves so the snow atop them is colorful.

Another view past my hosta garden beside the house.

I have to say the snow is lovely when its fresh and the day is sunny. Its cold tho, at only 20* at noon today. Brrrrr. I'm staying in today. The snowcover will be good for the garden beds. It'll keep the cold winds from damaging plants. But this is just the beginning of our Maine winter so we'll see much more of this white stuff and by February we'll be praying for anyting but snow.

I'll be posting the progress of my veggie garden as it happens.

Just a note: I think this year I'll be planting perennial herbs in pots that can go out during the spring and summer but come inside for the winter. I think that's a better plan than putting them in the raised beds. Things like Pesto Perpetuo Basil, Garlic Chives, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Spearmint, Roman Beauty Rosemary, and Stevia. I won't bother with the ones that need drying. Too much work when I can buy them in the bottle cheaper than growing them for one family.

Have a mild but good winter everyone with snow cover as the poor man's compost!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

My corgi Penny and I wish you all a Merry Christmas. This is NOT a photo of my Penny, but one I got off the 'net but they look like twins so I couldn't not post this with its appropriate attire.
My little dog joins me in my gardens whether its spring, summer, fall or winter. She's always by my side. She's even beside me evenings now as I make notes going thru a couple of gardening catalogs I've already rec'd for 2010.
For all my gardening friends, I wish you good gardening next year. I hope you've been lucky enuf to get something you can use in your garden. That's always a winner in my book. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

WISHING YOU A SAFE CHRISTMAS EVE!

For those of you traveling to Christmas gatherings today and tonite, be careful driving and be cautious of 'the other guys' out there.
Don't drink and drive. Be safe. Enjoy.

My garden is under a blanket of snow...

My nine raised beds are buried.We got another ten and a half inches of snow. I guess I'm not going get that fall sowing of radishes and lettuce after all. The black object covered with snow on the left in the midsection of the photo is my compost barrel. That, too, is buried. Its a good thing I don't have anything to put in there today.
Instead of gardening, now I'm sewing and cooking for Christmas.

Our First Snow of the Season!

At eleven o'clock last nite , Dec 5th, my corgi and son's golden were checking out the first snowfall of the season.

At eight this morning, and five inches of the white stuff, this is the view of my flower garden.

The trees are lovely and the sky is blue today. More is expected for the next 4 days. I hope its only a scattering here and there.

These are my Black-eyed Susans (Rudbekkia) in foreground, rose bush in background and my birdbath. Behind the birdbath is a Peony.

Living in the north country we expect a lot of snow....and we get it. Last year our first snow was in Nov. so it held off a bit this year. Its great as the cheapest compost for the gardens, keeping the winds from destroying many bushes and plants and giving them a warmer blanket than no snow at all. I don't mind as long as I don't have to drive in it. Today I'm inside working on sewing projects and Christmas goodies for the freezer so its no problem.

Worms are cozy for the winter....

This is the result of worm composting. I garnered a few 28-lb buckets of this healthy, chemical-free soil enrichment for my spring garden next spring. Its all the result of keeping a worm condo.

My worm condo is set up in my bathroom for the winter. In Sept I brought them in from their shady summer residence under the trees in the backyard. There are 2 additional floors to the condo, but I'm using only one floor now and the basement.

Their home has shredded newspapers, a bit of soil so they can use the bits for chewing, and of course, kitchen scraps.

The green garden tool is handy to move the coverings aside to add their food scraps and to check on their well-being. Worms don't like light, so they scramble below in a hurry.

I managed to catch a few unawares. The pink bits are well-fed worms doing their job for my veggie garden by making healthy, clean, vermicompost. The greens are chopped up canned green beans. No, they don't smell. They don't get loose either. I secure a small piece of pantyhose over the liquid drain spout with a rubber band so no critters can get free. The drain removes excess water and the liquid compost is terrific for container/potted plants during the winter. In the summer my flower garden benefits from the liquid compost.