This dog is begging for spring. Poor thing.

[dog says] Really?
[dog says again] Really?

[saddest thing seen at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show 2012]

Suburban free-rangers

The girls had a fine day worm, grub and whatever-bug hunting. It won't be long until we are back to three eggs a day. Are those Camelia petals on the ground? Where was I when it bloomed? Most be a couple of earlies because the 75 year-old bush is covered with buds.

Gardeners! Start your spinach...

Cool weather favorites like spinach and lettuce are ready to go. The time is also right to get your pre-sprouted peas in the ground. In the Pacific Northwest, it's too early to put the pea seeds straight into the ground. The damp will get them before they have a chance to get going. Soak them in a shallow bowl covered with a couple of layers of damp paper towels until they get a strong little root going - then plant them. Be sure to protect them from slugs (organically) and birds (nothing but net). These went in the ground today.

The "squawk" side of the show...

Coops, coops, coops! And a highly recommended book on urban chicken-raising.

Need a simple design idea, that is mobile (meaning you can move it so your chickens can tear up a new patch of your grass in search of juicy worms and grubs and the like) and easy enough to build by sight? I'm not including the vendor because the chickens in this pic had no food (just sod to peck at and certainly no worms or grubs)! Shame, shame, shame. At least they had water before I shamed them (the vendor, not the chickens, of course).

Below is another idea. But, really, my chickens are quite lazy. They'd rather scratch up my hostas in search of slugs than walk up a ramp into the clouds to get to their roost at the end of a long day of evading neighborhood cats.



And finally, the rooster of all chicken coops. Bob Bowling, of Whidbey Island, had the most amazing coops, greenhouses and potting sheds (and according to his website, outhouses!) that I have seen in a long time in a massive and lovely smelling booth (no outhouses there) with the Chocolate Flower Farm. The roost inside was an old, worn, patina-showing shovel handle. The details of his rustic work are truly amazing.

So! The book "everyone" raved about today about urban chicken ranching was Minnie Rose Lovgreen's (I'm not kidding with the name - Minnie's story is a great one) 'Recipe for Raising Chickens' (sounds ominous for the chickens). It's really a booklet and I can only assure a charming and thoroughly enjoyable and educational read. Check it out.

Chocolate Flower Farm had the best "new" plant at the show!

I actually stopped a stranger today to ask her what this plant was - and if I could photograph it.

The Chocolate Flower Farm had this stunning Abutilon Red Tiger today at the NW Flower and Garden Show in Seattle. According to their website, they also have Vesuvius, with a smaller flower. This is an upright, fast-growing shrub to 5 feet, that likes full to partial sun, apparently suited for Zone 7 (hardy to 0 degrees). I hope so, because it is beautiful.

Chickens in the Snow...

Too cold to clean the greenhouse today, so we had a chicken photo shoot. 

What a difference a day makes...

One moment the daylilies [Stella d'Oro] are peeking up out of the ground...

and the next, there's a fresh new layer of snow. Spring is teasing us!