Leaf by leaf, bud by bud, petal by petal

New year, new growing season. With the average temperature hovering in the upper 50's, spring was already in the making at the start of February. Hello gardeners! I welcome the buzzing bees and chirping birds outside my door but hesitate to second-guess if this year will be as hot as the last. A lot of work in store for the vegetable plot but in the meantime, I am enjoying la primavera in each tiny leaf, bud, and petal.

Nashi pear


Last year's primula makes a comeback


Flexi compost aerator

One thing rarely mentioned on garden blogs are the tools used, specifically those meant to make chores easier. From the beginning we struggled with turning the compost with a small pitchfork, but this aerator that I recently bought really does the trick at loosening things up. Our compost bin has a circular opening and this tool is genius since it doesn't require maneuvering at an angle. It works like a corkscrew: twist in and lift. Working a small section at a time, the job takes a few minutes and you're done.

Today's high: 17°C / 63°F

Grapes, yuzu, paw paw, and garlic for planting

78°F, 60% humidity. Where is the cold, the rain, the fog? I'm still wearing tshirts, without a sweater, and no socks. Zero complaints from me but the current climate feels like the earlier part of summer this year, that period when gardeners go into a frenzy at the nursery buying crates of seedlings, plants and what-have-you to fill their yards, flower beds, and vegetable plots. I think we did pretty good staying under 200€.

Dachshund photobombing...again
We bought a yuzu, paw paw, and 3 table grape varieties: Topazia (white), Black Magic, and Sublime Seedless (white).

We had a young lemon tree in the past that was brought indoors for the winter, but one year it was covered in tiny white pests that exuded a sticky sap. It never recovered and died. I've got this yuzu outside in the greenhouse that faces east.