Gardening: Spring Has Almost Sprung!

First of all, I'd like to introduce you to my greenhouse. We'll get to that in a bit...

I am VERY excited about Spring! I'm ready... I don't know about you, but I've been chomping at the bit to get out in the yard.

Maybe it's because last year I spent so much time running (actually doing something!) that I've been a bit bored this year... but with Spring just around the corner, I couldn't resist: I had to get out and work in the yard this weekend.

In Dallas, we had a great "warm" weekend. The first thing I did was to clean out some of my flower beds. This meant cutting the dead Lantana back and removing anything that had died over the winter.

I then got the lawnmower out, dropped it several levels, and began mowing. Ahh... the sound of a mower (after it got warmed up!) was awesome! I used the side discharge, so dead grass was blowing everywhere. It was great! I think my neighbors were a little surprised to see me mowing, too. Unfortunately, my eager beaverness wasn't able to motivate them... sigh.

I couldn't get past the greenhouse to mow, though. It's still too early to bring it down. That decision has really been beneficial to keeping plants throughout the winter. I keep a variety of warm-season growers in there... Hibiscus, Geraniums, Ferns, Sago Palm, and other species.



I would highly recommend investing in something like this if you have the space. It's like a big tent, and it takes about an hour to put up (if not less). I bought mine online at Amazon.


Notice there is some "dead" showing in the picture. Well, that was my fault. I didn't know the breaker had flipped and caused the socket to stop working that had the heater plugged into it. So for almost 5 days, and temps in the 30s, my greenhouse was only being warmed by the son and the heat that plants emit naturally.


Anyway, everything was fixed and growth came back! The heater runs on an automatic setting of 70 degrees. I probably could let it go down to 60, but I wanted to provide a tropical feel. In fact, I water each week and routinely spray the entire interior of the greenhouse so that the humidity will increase. It really works! Man, it is freakishly humid in there during a cold spell!


Ok, back to my chores. The final thing I did over the weekend was to purchase 30 rectangles of St. Augustine grass. I'm using them to change the grass in my front yard from Bermuda. While I like Bermuda, it doesn't grow well in the shade... and I've got some areas that are in desperate need of grass!


Anyway, it was a great weekend in the yard. I'm sore, my hands and arms are scratched up, but I've definitely got a head start compared to last year!


Bring on Spring!!!