This is a place to focus on what's currently happening in the gardens. I want to share fun seasonal garden stories & events with you. Josh is going to archive the posting as seasons evolve. We hope you will embrace it with a fun-filled spirit.

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Thank goodness February is gone! One day it's 64 degrees, the next, below freezing and terrible cold wind-chill. The whole month seemed to follow a like pattern. Without Valentine's Day, February would indeed, be the bleakest month of the year.

March 1 found me outdoors sowing hosta seeds in 72 little peat moss pellets (60 degree sunshine & no wind howling). I lugged them indoors & stuck them in my grow rack. The lights will be off until they germinate & show the tiniest signs of life. All ready cold mold tried to grow. I remembered how Trudy told me to save them last year; and sprinkled vermiculite over the cells. Now I wait again.

About Seed and Hosta by Bill Nash

So March came in like a lamb! Will it go out like a lion? Is that how the old story goes? If March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb. But if March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion. I just know we need some rain. I believe Iowa is over 3" short of our average moisture. The soil is like powder, not good for gardens. Only the cats are happy about it here.

March means think GREEN!

St. Patrick's Day celebrations help our winter-weary spirits. Even if we're not Irish everyone can join in & wear GREEN!

St. Patrick's Day - Customs and History

Today, people celebrate the St. Patrick's Day with parades, wearing of the green, and drinking beer. One reason St. Patrick's Day might have become so popular is that it takes place just a few days before the first day of spring. One might say it has become the first green of spring. And it is the only day of the year that green beer is popular.

I've been excited that some of the plants I brought indoors for the winter are actually doing ok. I don't do good with houseplants. Mother Nature is a much better gardener than I am. Ron helps me though. He hangs up special light fixtures for me & puts up with all my plant messes. Last year my Christmas gift was a 3 tier, grow rack with adjustable lighting. Ron's the best!

Growing Shamrocks and Other Oxalis

1 green shamrock, in the morning dew,
Another one sprouted, and then there were two.

2 green shamrocks, growing beneath a tree;
Another one sprouted and then there were three.

3 green shamrocks, by the cottage door;
Another one sprouted, and then there were four.

4 green shamrocks, near a beehive
Another one sprouted, and then there were five.

5 little shamrocks, bright and emerald green,
Think of all the luck these shamrocks will bring.

Shamrock Photos / buying info

Another good GREEN thing in MARCH is the first day of SPRING!

My calendar has Spring on March 20th only a few short days away. Actually the days have been getting longer. It's almost light when I get up in the mornings and it's staying daylight until nearly 6:00 pm. Hurray!

Cut back and pot up over-wintered bare-root geraniums.

Sow petunia and impatiens seeds indoors in early March for May planting.

Cut branches of magnolia, crabapple, and forsythia for forcing indoors.

Sow pepper and eggplant seeds indoors in mid-March for May planting.

Pot up overwintered dahlias and cannas for early flowers.

Begin fertilizing houseplants.

Remove the dead debris from asparagus beds.

Apply dormant oil to fruit trees in late March.

(Iowa State University / University Extension Calendar 2006)

March Newsletter - 'At the Garden Gate' (pdf file)
Suzette Streigel - Horticulturist
Mahaska County ISU Extension Service
Oskaloosa, IA

March 14 - Yippee! Tiny, baby hostas emerged today right on schedule! How fun! They are the tiniest touch of SPRING-GREEN! Knoxville Federated Garden Club - mtg. tonight. Speaker / Ruth Dykstra - "The Bird With the Sky On It's Back" (Bluebirds)

March 18 - Today my grandson turns 13. I got him 2 books both focusing on outdoor wildlife and fish. Oh, those teenage years; I'm glad I'm the grandparent and not the parent. Reece is such a good boy. Does that sound like a grandma talking?

The sun felt so good on this perfect spring day, so warm, no real need for a jacket. I got off work early and drove to the Iowa State Fair Grounds for the flower show. I went all by myself as getting off work on a scheduled day is next to a miracle so I couldn't really make plans with a garden friend. When I pulled into the parking lot, who did I see but my best-garden friend, Connie with her sister, Diane. I hollered, "Hey, girlfriends, wait for me." How funny!

It was a great time. I saw so many garden friends and talked & talked. The displays were wonderful, a true touch of spring. I love all the water features. Shamrocks were abundant, being St. Patrick's Day.

I came home with miniature sedums, new lily bulbs, and 3 huge Amaryllidaceous bulbs also known as Surprise Lily / Naked Lady / Magic Lily / Resurrection Lily. They're suppose to be the less common, white ones which I have never seen. So I was excited. There were no hostas for sale so I didn't have to resist that temptation; but there was that little cacti-type plant, that I just had to have to sit on a window sill; it followed me home. And I ate a big fat hot dog with mustard, onion, & relish!

March 20 - FIRST DAY OF SPRING! according to the calendar but not the weather; very cold today, awful wind. Marlee (grand-daughter) and I ventured out to take sedum cuttings. The cold wind blew right through us. The cuttings were taken though and are now all potted-up in anticipation of the fast approaching Knoxville Federated Garden Gala, April 8th. Our club is setting up a booth sponsoring the Bessie Spaur Butterfly Garden. I needed plants to sell. Snow was falling by bedtime.

March 21 - Several inches of snow on the ground this morning. The birds are really Twitterpatted! It's scheduled to stop at noon. I'll have to go out to fill the feeders. I didn't see the Robins today. This snow-cover is hard on them. They had arrived last week bringing their beautiful song to the gardens. I love waking up to birds singing. Robin's are a first sign of spring in Iowa. www.mamarocks.com/first_robin.htm The bluebirds are arriving too but I haven't seen them yet. I went out & made sure the nest boxes were clean & left the door ajar for a couple days. Soon wrens will sing at dawn making it near impossible to sleep after the sun is up for the day. It's a good thing!

March 28
Final Garden Gala organizational meeting tonight. Ready or not - April 8th will come. (See What's Coming Up)

March 30
I vote - March - going out like a LION! Furocious thunder storms roar across Iowa tonight. Lighting crashing! Strong wind blowing hard! Tornado warnings issued! Rain pouring intermixed with hail! Yep, the lions have it - 2006!