2010-03-30

Life in the Garden Part 36: Winter Survivors

We had a mild winter this year which gives me a head start on the garden.  After the 2008-2009 winter I expected to have a lot fewer green things still alive. Many of them look like they've been through the winter, but I was able to harvest them throughout the season.



Thyme and lavender survived in a big pot.  The basil didn't, but that's no surprise.


Here's how the same pot looked in July.


And here it is in August.





My Elijah Blue decorative grass (Festuca glauca) did fairly well.  I picked it up at the WA Arboretum plant sale last April. 

I did pretty well in the cold frame over winter:



Here's how it looked in May:

I quite pleased with how well the Hardy Jasmine plant did.



Here it is from May.


My rosemary plant had a rougher time, but not directly from the Winter.  The problem was I put it in an Ikea selfwatering planter.  These are actually a pretty poor choice for a planter.  Most self-watering planters have an over flow feature so they can't get too full, but these do not.  As the rains came down, they filled the reservoir and continued to fill the pot.  The soil turned into a swamp.  Every now and then I went out there and turned the pot on its side to dump the excess water.

Amzingly, the rosemary survived, though it did give up most of its color.

Here it is today.



And here it is when I first put it out on the deck.


My outdoor strawberries had a rough time.  The indoor ones are still in good shape.  The outdoor ones didn't quite stay wet enough in the cold frame.

They were a little greener in May, but I think they'll get back there.  If not, I'm still planting more seeds.


My bamboo has done well.

Here it is in September 2008.



Here it is in February 2009.

Here it is in May 2009.

And here it is today.



So the Spring is off to a good start.  I've got new seeds planted, and I have some survivors from last year.  It may take a while before it gets back to this:

But it should be a fun project.

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