Looking out my window today, I see snow-covered yards, piles of snow on the side of the street, and long icicles on the eaves of houses.
Yesterday, we received over four inches of snow.
And I learned this morning, our metro Detroit area snow total for January 2024 is 17 inches of snow.
Which has me thinking of gardening.
With an early spring predicted for southeast Michigan, I can’t wait to get started!
While there’s not much I can do outside before the ground thaws, other than picking up fallen tree branches, I can get started planning my garden as well as researching plants and seeds.
And I discovered two online gardening-focused projects I can start on this week.
In Bloom: Successional Native Plantings for Continuous Blooms
A free webinar hosted by Missouri Prairie Foundation, the thirty-minute In Bloom: Successional Native Plantings for Continuous Blooms features master naturalist and self-described “plant nerd” Cydney Ross.
From the event description:
It is arguably every gardener’s dream to have plants in bloom from spring through fall in their native gardens.
Presenter Cydney Ross will share her knowledge and expertise on how to keep the native wildflower blooms popping through the growing season.
A Q&A session follows the presentation.
While registration for today’s event is full, the recording will be available on Missouri Prairie’s YouTube channel February 2, 2024.
Gardening Journal
For years, I’ve meant to start a gardening journal to keep a record of my gardening ventures.
What I planted, when I planted, what worked, what didn’t grow as well as take photos of the garden over the year.
And every year I forget to start one.
This year I figure if I start early and get in the habit of capturing my gardening adventures, I might keep it up.
Now the next decision to make is whether to go digital or paper. And I’m not sure at this point which I’ll use, so I’m exploring options.
The first option that caught my attention was the Garden Journal from the Farmer’s Almanac.
It’s a free digital journal that gives you a range of features for keeping track of your gardening progress and plans throughout the year.
I created an account, which prompted me for my email address and general location (I chose to provide my community rather than my specific physical address).
The sidebar interface has descriptive labels that display when I hover over the icon, making it easy for me to understand them.
Using the “+” button for a date displays an interface that allows me to enter my planting, tending, harvesting, or watering task.
But I found the icons for a specific date, next to the + button, to be confusing and redundant.
Especially since there’s no descriptive label that displays when I hover over the icon.
I found it easier to select the + button to add a journal item.
Admittedly, I haven’t spent a lot of time using the Journal. But I’ll be exploring it more over the next few weeks.
Summary
Overcast skies and four inches of snow on the ground doesn’t mean I can’t start thinking about and planning my 2024 garden.
I’m looking forward to watching the Missouri Prairie Foundation webinar later this week and delving into the Farmer’s Almanac Journal.
If you’re a gardener, have you begun planning your 2024 garden?
