Plant Sale

Today was a plant sale at the Albuquerque Garden Center. I had some time before Little Digger's nap so we biked over to check it out.

There were xerics and natives outside, a tool sharpener, a table full of violets, and a full room of tomatoes, but the highlight for me was the Day Lily Club table. There were lilies with every color bloom (purple, red, pink ,orange, yellow, and white). Little Digger wanted one that had yellow flowers with purple stripes. Unfortunately they wouldn't sell any plants till 1:00 and we couldn't stay that late.

We returned after nap but the day lily table had be cleared out and put away. Apparently I'm not the only lily lover in this city. Fortunately, I found a few poorly labeled day lilies on another table. I have no idea what color they will be (probably the normal orange) but they were a quarter of the price.

This was a really fun event and a great chance to support the city's gardening community and score some cheap/unusual plants.

Survival

The sun comes up, warm and bright. It is spring and plants burst forth waving green flags, bright and new, to announce that they did not succumb to winter's chill.
All of the apple saplings in my yard have survived their first winter, a good omen for my fledgling garden, and some day lilies are beginning to poke their way through the soil. It will be an exciting year for this digger.

Unfortunately, my little lawn has suffered some from my inexperience. There are many dead patches which I am attributing to white grubs preparing for hibernation last fall. I'm not sure what to do about them just yet. In the meantime, I've aerated the remaining grass and topdressed it with compost.

Hitching Post

It's not quite gardening but I built and installed a bike rack at the top of the driveway. Now my wife has a secure place to chain her scooter and I can leave the bike trailer outside, which makes my more likely to use it. It's not a feature I see on a lot of houses but I'm enjoying having it on mine.

Cats are Terrible Gardeners

I have never been able to keep houseplants. My house is plagued by cats who devour any leafy material that passes through my door.
Despite this, I've been possessed, for a couple of years now, by a fascination with fairy gardens. I really really want to keep one of those cute miniature landscapes. I figured that if I made one planted with cactus the cats wouldn't chew it.

They don't. Instead they pull the cacti out of the soil. I think they're jealously defending their sunny window sill from vegetal squatters. These cacti are proving pretty hardy but I can only replant them so many times before they suffer. I just can't win.