We had a very mild March, with some days that the temperature hit the 20's. I have never experienced anything like it. For my readers who live in gentler climates, we still get snow here up to May, and March and April offer a huge spectrum of weather in Montreal. We had very little snow, some sleet, some hail, some rain, some freezing rain, and sun, sometimes all on the same day. My bulbs took the hint that spring was trying to break through early, and everything started to sprout in March, approximately three weeks early. This may sound lovely, but given that we still get frosts up to late May, early sprouting and lack of late season snow can have a pretty bad impact on the growing season.
As I write, it is drizzling outside and I am delighted to see at least some precipitation. My friend Claude the agronomist was over for tea last night and we were discussing how the unseasonably warm March almost destroyed the blueberries for the season, but they pulled through the subsequent subzero weather so all is well in blueberry land. We also made arrangements for him to take some soil samples from our garden and take care of the analysis and recommendation of what to add to our garden soil to make it better for growing.
It is beautiful to see some green popping up in my garden. Given I could not remember which bulbs I planted where, I have been watching with anticipation to see what it will look like. So far, only my Siberian Squills have started to bloom (finally!!), but the rest of my garden is a couple of weeks behind everyone else in the neighbourhood.
Welcome to my personal microclimate. I have lilies, tulips, crocuses, hyacinths and daffodils sprouting, as well as columbines, raspberries, lilacs, roses and lots of garlic. Oh, also lambeum and periwinkle, and possibly some bleeding hearts are coming up on the sides of the house.
I am late in planting my indoor seeds. Besides my 4 remaining columbine sprouts from last July (still small but doing okay in my basement), and one last pepper plant which, though decimated by aphids, is still a bit alive, I have not started yet. Josh plans to buy a better growing light, and I was recommended by Claude to wash all my seeds in hydrogen peroxide to get rid of the blight that affected mostly my tomatoes last year. We have to order some bush basil and more San Marzano tomato seeds too. I have decided to wait and see what my garden looks like this year before planting more perennials, and I think I will be buying some begonias this year when I see where the bare spots are. We have been busy with Passover and my daughter Zara's upcoming Bat Mitzvah, so the garden had to wait an extra week or two. I did take the time to sprinkle almost two full bags of slug-b-gone everywhere in the garden. I am hoping to head them off at the pass this time and sell off my Budweiser shares.
