they look like they’re just itching to get stuck in.

coffee in 30something weather is better than no coffee in 30something weather.

in this season, there is a treasure under every leaf. i feel like a successful pirate.

I like to “walk the estate” every day to see the progress in the garden. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

One of these is not like the others. (either crocus or grape hyacinths finally popping up)

A very Mr. Darcy morning. Body. and. soul.

getting closer to being done with this. a bit of readjusting the pavers before the greenhouse goes up. the greenhouse itself is one of those tinker toy styles. I fit poles into brackets and put a cover over it. nothing intense. real greenhouses are either impossibly expensive (if new) or impossible to find (if used).

45 minutes of garden clean-up. only i can tell :D

I used this extra day of the year to finish supplying myself with my greenhouse base materials. Fingers crossed I can get this done this weekend.

These carrot tops have been a balm for me through winter. Which I didn’t seem to appreciate until yesterday. They’re such fuzzy and bright fellows. And apparently evergreen. I wouldn’t be mad at the idea of planting carrots as ornamentals, just for this sweet foliage in the winter.

i hacked the shit out of this hedgegrow last summer. the general rule is that you prune in the summer to restrict growth and prune in the fall/winter to encourage growth. I chose summer because these bad boys (whatever they are) are too prolific for their (my) own good. But I was worried I went too far. These buds have said relieved that worry. Even though I’ll eventually be ripping out the entire hedgerow in favor diverse edible and native planting.

a 65 degree day really makes these leaves look out of place.

Not my garden. These wee Aconites were bursting at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Their brilliance prompted my 19 month old to use her newly discovered word “flower.” So basically, I won the day. And I’ll be planting at least 80 of these throughout my garden in the fall. My late winter blues needs these.

after a week of high 40s to mid 50s, we somehow got snow that stuck last night. Wellies got it good.

AHHH! the succulents have made an appearance! what is it about these ones that send me to nostalgic heaven? its like finding the heavy egg at the eater egg hunt. you know it’s full of coin, chocolate or otherwise.

Ornamental Chives for. the. win! Look at these boops popping up!

this bench has become Ada’s favorite spot in the garden. here, she learns to blow bubbles, puts soil in and out of pots, and plays with water. I love that she doesn’t yet comprehend that the winter garden is 10x more drab than the spring/summer garden. or perhaps she does, but choose to see the enjoyment and beauty anyway.

the hubs recently cleared out a bunch of leaves from the patio. this pot of a young evergreen vine was revealed. I forgot i had tucked her into a safe spot among the leaves over winter. Her chances of survival were completely unknown, but it looks like she’s got life in her!

I was dreading getting this started. I thought the digging would take ages and wear me out beyond standing. why? I don’t know. I dug entire stone paths while pregnant. …perhaps that’s why…. Anyway, while I was digging, I noticed that my soil is actually pretty beautiful, if a bit clay-y. If I haven’t said before, I live on former prairie land, it would be extra sad if the soil had just given up. I hope to re-prairie-tize my little postage stamp of land. And - oh, yea - this green house base will help me do it. it’s not finished yet.

This is the first year that I’ve awaited fall-planted bulbs. and I’ve forgotten what I’ve planted and where. Whatever this one is - and there are a few around - seems to be most resilient (so far) to the asshole rabbits. I’m hoping it just a few more weeks for the wait-and-see game to be over. My money’s on Snowdrops.