Dayton "Dirt" - March 29, 2013

It seems so strange to experience the flip side of a cold spring as compared to the hot dry March last year! Finally, some taste of spring has sprung and just in time for Easter. Normally crocus flowers are popping out of the ground but I haven’t seen one yet although a bright side to the cold weather is that the aggressive non-native weed, garlic mustard is not proliferating as it was last year as we fought to keep it in check. The Easter flowers in the greenhouse are a hint of what’s in store for us later in April and May with the spectacular spring show about to begin. The cold March reminded me of the photographs of the old house at the nursery of May 10, 1923 which shows children standing just north of the house in their coats and boots with about 4 inches of snow on the ground. Another photo that my neighbor Mrs. Aura Diehm had shown me 20 years ago was that of her inlaws house across the street from the nursery farmhouse in May of 1924 with at least 6 inches of snow on the roof! I’m not looking to have a snowy May but you never know. Surprisingly, the flowers in the greenhouse keep marching along even with the long stretches of cloudy cool weather. In less then a month the greenhouses will open with all the colors of the rainbow blazing!