Tomorrow it's Spring!

Lori, your greenhouse is a great size! I've never seen it before. I've been able to get all my annuals started off in mine already, which is a great help. I do heat it at night, but it has been keeping up at about 7c lately, so hopefully I will soon be able to turn off the heater and put it away until the autumn.

Your winter has been like mine but much more extreme of course. We have had a lot more frost than usual, and a lot of bitter cold winds, often gale force. Not much snow at all, but it's not snow that kills plants, it's cold freezing winds that get them isn't it.

Never mind, the sun is getting stronger now and the days longer. You'll be interested to hear that today I planted two Chokeberry bushes in my 'Grow my Own' corner. Apparently Scotland has the ideal climate for these super berries. Do you have them growing locally? And can you offer me any recipes?

We had spring weather today, but big snow is coming tomorrow as Winter and Spring continue to battle it out. I hope spring comes from you soon. Congratulations for making your own maple syrup.

http://www.womenfitness.net/chokeberries_the_new_power_food.htm
there's confusion among these members of the Rosacae family... the most commonly used for food/supplementation is the Aronia. As a child I remember eating Prunus "chokecherries"... blahhh.... super sour/bitter but they look so enticing. This choke grows wild in the area where I grew up and is the first thing to blossom in the spring with sweet smelling flowers..like tiny wild roses.. in a pinky white.
there's a purple chokeberry that is called Malus floribunda!
So all the families are represented in this ubiquitous group! Amazing aren't they? Did a little look up and want to thank you for this mention as I need something for my swampy bottom... Aronia melanocarpa. Fantastic suggestion Karen. thank you. Hope the link above will give some connections. Whenever I need recipes or memory refreshment I like to google recipes.com.... apparently they are used in salsas, jams, jellies and drinks!

thanks Bathgate. I've been planning to go out and use my snowshoes to batter down a path between trees...lacking a little courage here. No time like the present though. today's daytime temps promise to be 6 degrees above freezing and with the sun it should have the sap rising. Hope the snow you were expecting didn't hit too hard. It must be connected with the terrible dump of snow they've received to the east...Prince Edward Island has disappeared into a snow drift!

Oh lori how wintery still! I hope your temps reached at least 7C today, with some sun and no wind it feels really mild. Sorry to hear about your swampy bottom! Hope it clears up soon for you ?. You had me looking at chokeberries too karen, very interesting but maybe for nxt year when the main structure for the garden is in place. Although no swampy bottom here! Yes lori how did we manage in the pre-google era? I can't imagine it anymore.

Ah, excellent! We can compare!mine are Aronia prunifolia 'Viking'.

Hi Lori, spring will come and you'll then get very busy again, thats a great greenhouse you have there, you'll be able to while away lots of hours once the temps are up enough for you. It must be getting warmer as I see you have a friend near the car....

Will do karen. Lori what is that creature in the photo above the one of your fantastic greenhouse? A squirrel? I am really jealous of anybody with a good size grhouse, but my garden is just too small....? sigh. Please post some pics when you start using it. Good luck with all your seeds this spring.

Yes its a wonderful greenhouse. You land is amazing, though I don't envy you all that snow when we are enjoying loads of spring flowers. But your garden is so beautiful it will be worth waiting a little longer. Please do a blog about collecting and bottling your maple syrup!

Lori it all looks amazing in the sunshine. The greenhouse picture is my favourite bet you cant wait to get started in there. Happy days

when you expect the snow to vanish? hope it happens a bit slowly, so you don't get overflow problems!

Happy days, indeed, Sandra! When the melt starts it comes in a rush, doesn't seem to matter how much heat we have from the sun, Fran. hoping for some warm rain and March winds.
The word hereabouts is that the sap run will be a little different this year... it started earlier in the month with warmer days but stopped short this past week (7 whole days) of COLD arctic winds and never above zero day or night. This is not good for the new growth on the trees. Forecasts for some windshifts and spring days to come will make it a shorter season than usual. Seems to be the pattern this decade. The last three springs have been much colder than the previous decade and the winters lengthy and colder than usual. From '93-'06 we had mild winters. Now we have what they are calling a "Polar Vortex" and it makes itself felt even in the summer. Last summer we had only days of summer weather. The rest was nice and temperate but none of the hot sultry humidity we're used to. It appears that this cold pattern is establishing itself and that's a worry.
have spent the last two hours starting to set up the greenhouse. I want to start veggies but with the cold nights and howling winds it's hard to heat it properly overnight. While the sun shines it is HOT... so have decided to try a tea light, flowerpot heater that I saw online. it generates about 140 - 160 Degrees and would be safer than the electric heater which almost had a melt down last season.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Flower-Pots-Tea-Lights-Heater/
there's a bit of controversy about this ...going to try it and see for myself.
I have to contact the nursery in Renfrew about the Aronia, Karen. Since it's native to NA I should be able to find it. Just hope it doesn't involve a long drive!
Retrieved the sap buckets and spiles from storage in the greenhouse and they're washed and ready to go. My method is rather old fashioned/primitive, Stera. Perhaps I should visit some of the local operations to get some pictures and do a blog on their methods and contrast theirs to my own.
LOL...Lincs! Rufus has suffered this winter too! He's only now getting outdoors to chase squirrels and chipmunks. You'd think with all that fur he'd be happy in the cold...but we've spoiled him, I guess. He's a lurker! he loves to sit in trees and even on the roof of the shed and house. The squirrel in the pic, Marianne, is one of three youngsters who've taken to scarfing down all the suet that I've put out for the birds.
Thanks for all the comments, folks... it's the impetus I need to get outdoors and into the greenhouse.