Arthur in the Garden!

There was a cold snap last night and the temperatures reached a low of 33f but nothing looks damaged.

The good news is that while looking for cold damage this morning I did see the fallen pollen stamen of the pine and sweet gum trees. This means that the Spring pollen season is coming to an end! The upper anther is of the Sweet Gum and the lower, is the pine anther.

In the vegetable garden the arugula and lettuce seeds have begun to germinate.

And the Paulownia tees are blooming and dropping flowers!

In the front yard there are large patches of old-fashioned ajuga blooming. These have green leaves and the former owner of the house, Ruby, probably had a bed out there.

Also, a few of the German Irises have begun to bloom!

Hopefully, last night’s threat of frost was the last! I am going to pretend it was and go about my gardening business!

xxx

As I am planting the vegetable garden my eyes begin to burn and sting then I remember: pollen!

The North Carolina State tree is the Loblolly Pine. They are the most common tree and in the past they made the British colonies wealthy with the production of tar, pitch, and timber.

They also produce pollen in abundance. They are wind pollinated and the Spring breezes blow the pollen from the male to the female cone. The cones mature in two seasons producing the nuts the wildlife depend on to make it through the winter.

Unfortunately, the yellow clouds of pollen are very messy and I like to blame my allergies on it but the scientist say oak pollen is probably worse! It covers everything!

With any case, everything is yellow for a week or two. Keep the windows closed!

Each spring I add a fresh bag of soil to each of the vegetable garden raised beds.

I then rake it out even and attempt to remove twigs and refuse.

The tomatoes and cucumbers are grown on A-frame trellises so I plant them very close.

The A-frames are placed on the raised beds. They create a great shady place to grow heat sensitive vegetables during the summer. Although, the high humidity here in The South doesn’t help you with lettuce or radishes! I do have to add that I love how the radishes become hot and spicy when I attempt to grow a crop during hot weather!

I am on staycation this week so you’ll probably hear from me again!