Throwing In The Towel and Lifting The Spade

Workday!
As the sun wains on today, it is 76 degrees outside.  Mild with a light breeze.  A top 10 day of the year, weatherwise, and on a Sunday to boot.

This morning with my coffee, I was sitting outside and taking a look at the roses, which I hadn't pruned at all, and...they were all breaking dormancy!  Those that went into dormancy, that is.  Marie Pavie has been blooming throughout the winter, in total shade.  So, I threw in the towel and pick up the trowel and decided that today was first real garden day of the year.   I probably worked for 5 straight hours out there!

The remains of the blooms from Marie Pavie

I planted the bulbs that have been hanging in the refrigerator (southern solution to no frost), hard pruned the roses, raked up the leaf cover, put several bags of compost and mulch all around, and potted up the stolen rose cutting which is now on its way to bush-dom.

Rosa "Church Heist"

And finally, after sitting out there in their nursery pots all winter (I don't know how it is I don't kill more stuff doing this), I planted the Encore Azaleas out in the parking garden.  That process is an hour in itself, because it involves digging through the gravel, then sawing out the roots of various trees both dead and alive to make some room.  Then of course importing some decent soil mixed with sphagnum so that some water is retained.  Then, planting time.  I often wonder what it must be like gardening someplace that hasn't been an urban center for hundreds of years and doesn't have mature 70 foot trees all over the place? Are there places with fertile workable soil?  Really?  Anyhow, the parking garden is a big work in progress.  Mostly still the work part, with a lot of the progress forthcoming.  One thing that is looking pretty good is the 'hedge' of liriope outside the garden gate leading to the parking garden.  It gives me hope that 2 years from now the parking garden will be looking as established, and not, well, like this second picture.

"Evergreen Giant" Liriope along the driveway... looking good even in winter

New Azaleas looking very small in their new home

My garden, still mostly sleepy, has turned a big corner in the past week... the no going back corner.  Our average 'last frost' date here on the peninsula is Feb 11, but things are way ahead, and if we get a freezing night this year I'm hoping its not til next December.   I think the latest ever is March 8, and thats a full month from now, so fingers are crossed.  It is hard to imagine though, as the entire winter has been in the 60s and 70s minus a handful of days.  Snowflakes are up, muscari nearly there, and even the tropical brugmansia has unfurled a few leaves.