Another Snow Day

The view out the upstairs bathroom window this morning, as the snow begins. We could have done without another snowstorm, in my opinion!   We are under a winter storm warning until tomorrow morning, forecast to get up to 8 inches.  The ground has warmed up enough that I am hoping most of it will melt as it lands.

Turning from the window, this is my more spring-like view. Last fall I transformed the south-facing guest bathroom into a temporary winter solarium, filling the bathtub with pots of bourgainvillea, angels trumpet, and mandevillea from the patio. They have survived the winter quite well.  A couple weeks ago, I added shelving and fluorescent shop lights for seed starts. The tomatoes have their first true leaves now.

We also have a miniature citrus grove up there. When the home improvement store clearanced little citrus fruit trees last fall for 99 cents each, I purchased an orange, a lemon and a lime.  I am not expecting to get oranges on these 1-foot-tall trees for several years, so I was surprised to find flower buds on the orange this week.  Being from Minnesota, I have zero experience with citrus trees, but I have heard that orange blossoms are extremely fragrant- I can't wait for them to open so I can get a whiff.

Last Saturday was the annual garage sale at Sargent's Nursery, where I used to work. It was a very windy, blustery day, but I braved the cold because there are such great deals for gardeners.  I purchased a bunch of perennials at 70% off - including two  spectacular clematis vines, loaded with buds.  I am keeping them indoors until spring arrives.  This variety is Josephine--it will have  layered  pink and lavender striped petals, like a pompom. The other is Barbara Harris, bearing a large, single purplish-red flower with yellow anthers. Maybe I will have clematis blooming for Easter.

My plan was to plant peas and  greens out in the garden today, but since it is a better day for indoor projects, I  am working up the oomph to tackle sewing a new canopy for the gazebo on the patio (see structure on lower left corner of this photo). The original canopy was pretty old and fragile, and was ripped to shreds in a fierce storm last fall.  The gazebo is  10 x10 feet, with corner panels and mosquito net curtains.  That's going to be a big pile o' fabric to handle --wish me luck!