Start Marking Your Calendars Now! Garden Events for this spring and summer

Wow, can you believe that it's almost March?  I feel like winter is never going to end.  I can't remember a winter that has ever been this cold.  Let's hope for an early spring.
 
There are lots of things to look forward to this spring and summer.  Here is a just a short list. 

• Warmer weather
• Paine Art Center Festival of Spring - May 17.  Oshkosh, WI.  More information here:http://www.thepaine.org/events/festival-of-spring/index.html
• May 17, 2014: Outagamie County Master Gardener Association Annual Plant Sale.  UW-Extension Grounds, 3365 W. Brewster St., Appleton.  8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
• Green Bay Botanical Garden Fair - May 30- June 1.  More information. http://www.gbbg.org/things-to-do/garden-events/id/184/title/Garden-Fair
• Midwest Regional Hosta Convention - Green Bay, June 26-28.  More information here: http://greenandgoldhosta.org/2014-convention.html
• AHS (Daylilies) Region 2 Summer Meeting - Beauty by the Bay - July 25-27.  More information here: http://badbuds.org/Region%202%20Summer%20Meeting.html

Some winter garden crafting

It started with an old ashtray I embellished with some beads.

I attached it to an old candle drip tray, added some painted plastic spoons and some more beads.

I added a small green plate and a painted green bud vase.

Once it's warm out I will put it on top of an old snow fence pole.

It might be -40 with windchill today but...

The cold weather is good for something

Here is one good thing about our recent cold weather.  You can get some great fog pictures!   I took these at Jefferson Park in Menasha.

Best of 2013 Part 2

So while I search through pictures to post tonight, it's -18 degrees outside (that is without windchill, with windchill it's around -50).   I did actually venture out today to go pick up some groceries.  I've lived in Wisconsin that at first it didn't seem that cold.  Then after being in the grocery store for at least 15 minutes I realized that that my jeans were still pretty much frozen from the quick walk from the car to store.  Yikes!

So here are some pictures to help us remember warmer days!

Hosta Convention in Milwaukee

Coastline in Maui

George warming in the sun

George enjoying the outdoors

Hosta 'Sagae'

Hosta 'Borsch #1' coming up

Hosta 'Borsch #1'

Hosta bed with tree peony

Best of 2013 Part 1

I've decided to take a look back and put together pictures and moments that I think were the best of 2013.  I have pictures on 2 different computers and a phone.  So this will probably end up being a 3 parter.  I really need to learn to just put my pictures into a shared drive.  So here is the best of 2013 part 1.

Morning Glories

Primula Blue Zebra

Awesome succulent picture in hotel lobby in San Antonio

We added a dog to our family - he's quite goofy!

Winter frost

'Borsch #1' hosta flower

Making flower fairies with my nieces

Daylily

More Morning Glories

Love this Begonia I found

More Morning Glories

Even More Morning Glories

Fall Canoe trip

Halloween

Fall reds

So this is who has been eating my hostas!

Gardening New Year's Resolutions

It's been a while since I posted on here.  Once the cold weather starts to creep in and I can no longer be outside gardening I go into my winter slump.  I am also extremely busy at work in the fall, so that keeps me away as well.  So I hope no one was worried about me, I'm still here!   I do post more often on my Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/cheeseheadgardening 

So the new year is coming upon us, time to start thinking about resolutions.  I've been thinking about my garden resolutions.  I don't want to be to unrealistic.  I really could thin out my hosta collection, but am I really going to do that??????  NO.  So this year I am going to try to commit to starting some of my seeds earlier.  If you follow my blog or my Facebook page you know I LOVE Japanese morning glories.  The problem is that they usually start blooming for me late summer about the time I go back to work.  So I want to start them inside early this year so I can enjoy them earlier in the summer.

What are your gardening resolutions?