Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Dirt Under My Nails (At Last)


The snowdrops I ordered from Carolyn of Carolyn's Shade Garden arrived in the mail today. This was an exciting event for me. I feel it marks the start of my gardening year! Unfortunately, they arrived on the worst-weather day of this winter. The snow that started early, changed to freezing rain by mid-day, and the cold mess continued into the afternoon. I don't know if the ground is still frozen here, but there was no way I was going to dig around outside to find out, so I decided to pot-up the new plants until the weather improves. I was so happy to get dirt under my nails!

It felt like Christmas morning as I opened the well-packed box.
I was surprised they still held their sweet blooms.

Carolyn had clearly labeled each variety.
Wearing barn coat, hat, gloves and boots, I headed out to my potting shed with my precious plants. The potting shed is a mess at this time of the year, but it was lovely to be inside my sanctuary again.


I cleared a bit of space on the potting bench, opened a new bag of potting soil, and soon had four pots of healthy-looking snowdrops!



I carried my trophies to the back porch, watered them, and left them there to await their move to their new home (frequently peeping through the window to admire them).



I will plant them in my shade garden where I can see them (through the French windows) from my favorite chair in the garden room.

View from my favorite chair. (Early spring 2011)

Thank you Carolyn! You made my day!

Pamela x

The only snowdrop I owned before today.


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I look forward to visiting your blog in return.

24 comments:

  1. Love hearing from you again! Not much of a winter this year even in the Poconos!!!
    Love snowdrops!
    Barb F.

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  2. I am glad FB alerted me to your post. I don't even go to FB, but it came to me by email. It is so nice you got your snowdrops from Carolyn and will get to see them grow from your favorite chair. It is almost like friendship growing in the garden. We too had your lousy weather today and I would not have wanted to be planting on a day like today.

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  3. I will be digging and working in the garden again soon as well. Today, I hope to transplant my snowpea seedlings to the veg garden. I have never grown snowdrops...do voles bother them? They are lovely...especially at this time of year.

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  4. I love snow drops! They look great. Glad you finally got your hands dirty. :)

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  5. Pam, I am so excited to see the snowdrops that I mail off from the receiving end. And thrilled about all the excitement they generated---something to look forward to for years to come. Rodents do not generally bother snowdrops because they are poisonous like daffodils. Thanks, Carolyn

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  6. How fun! And how pretty they look - I can't believe they still had blooms on them! Isn't it exciting to get new plants by mail - and get to play in the dirt?!!

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  7. It feels marvelous to be digging in the dirt and preparing the garden again. It will not be much longer until I can do the same. I love snowdrops but do not have a one in my garden. I have to change that. I love that you are plating them where you can really enjoy them on days when the weather is not cooperating.

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  8. I cannot wait to get my hands dirty too! Too dump to work in the garden but I enjoy my snowdrops, they are everywhere.

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  9. We're having a warm spell here in ol' Blighty at the moment (but I've probably cursed us all now and the weather will turn!) Lovely to see snowdrops in the garden, especially from a warm, comfy chair! XX

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  10. So glad you managed to get gardening ... love the snowdrops: they will look great under the tree.

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  11. Hi Pam,

    Good luck with your Snowdrops - sorry to hear about the snow/freezing rain though!
    I hope it all clears up soon and you can get out into the garden :D






    PS - grrrrrr blogger still isn't letting me post as my wordpress account!

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  12. You're lucky to be able to grow snowdrops there. They remind me of my home in England. Sadly, they don't do well down here.

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  13. what awful weather Pam but would have liked to see you dressed to dig dirt in the potting shed ;)How lovely to have a piece of Carolyn's shade garden - may they thrive and treble

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  14. Pam how wonderful. I am looking at a garden that is slowly turning to spring. A crocus or snowdrop here or there...too much cold weather still showing itself. We had snow and ice for 2 days this past week. What a lovely location for your snowdrops.

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  15. I have snowdrops for the first time this year. I wasn't even familiar with them and now I see them all over! Where have I been!
    They are the most adorable things.

    Jeannine

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  16. Blooming snowdrops by mail, how's that for instant satisfaction! I'm going bulb shopping next weekend and snowdrops are on my list, they are such little cuties! Lucky you that spring is on the way... looking forward to watching your garden wake up!

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  17. Hello! I've missed reading your blog. SO wonderful those little snowdrops were blooming when they came. I wouldn't have expected that.

    I've had no luck with them...they just don't come up here.

    Diane

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  18. Just the right spot for your Snowdrops. If we lived nearby Caroline I am sure we would be regular customers. Happy to see you posting again Pam.
    A message to blogger, why have you made it so difficult for wordpress users to decipher your word verification!!

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  19. How fun! Even more so when I know who you bought them from. I hope they multiply for you rapidly. :)

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  20. I owe Jo, "The Good Life" blog, a BIG apology. I inadvertently deleted her comment. This is what she said ...

    "Sorry to hear that you're having bad weather. I think spring has arrived here, it's glorious today. How lovely to start the gardening year, even if it was only potting up some plants, it still counts."

    Thanks so much, Jo, and my apologies again. Pam x

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  21. One of the best feelings in the world to have your hands in the soil... The snowdrops will look lovely in your shade garden.

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  22. Lovely that they still had their blooms on.

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  23. Don't you just love gardening friends? What a sweet gesture. You did such a nice job potting them up.

    I have a few clumps of snowdrops and they're always so sweet to see this time of year.

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  24. Of what fun! Mail order plants is not that usual here yet, except for bulbs and seeds. And coming from Carolyn's Shade Garden - what a treat!

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