Agriculture

 Gardeners get anxious this time of the year. Warm one day, cold the next, the sun coaxes open a little patch of crocus by the path or we catch sight of an old landscape filled with waves of blooming white snow drops. This year the show is sure to come early and the forsythia are not the first to bloom, despite this oft cited sign of spring! There are other early bloomers to keep us occupied until spring truly arrives.

I am so grateful that my husband, Andy, is in charge of the orchard. Fruit tree maintenance, I am convinced, is an art. There are details to pruning that can make or break good fruit set, branch structure and ability to pick when the limbs are laden with ripe fruit. While I understand the basics I am glad Andy is the one who executes the task. 

Spring bulbs popping up everywhere as temperatures roller-coaster from the teens to the 60s have left many scratching their heads; there is not much we can do to fool Mother Nature so we must be patient and hope that we have a decent display come March.  I have some foliage that has turned to mush but the bulb and bloom are still safe beneath the soil surface; the bulb will send up fresh foliage in due time. The real issue with the crazy weather is that our bulbs need sufficient dormancy and chilling time in the ground in order to bloom well.