Is Your Garden Ready for Spring?

Ready or not, the spring equinox is almost here in the northern hemisphere. I’m ready for winter to be over, however I still have a few things that need cutting back pdq now that it is almost here. I have trimmed back the majority of my perennials as I should have by now, however I tend to leave my ornamental grasses till the last minute because I enjoy the look of them even through the winter. It is time now though, if you haven’t done so, to make way for new growth on perennials that die back to the ground each winter.

Spring arrives, according to the calendar, on Sunday, March 20, 2011. Those of you that live in the northern tier of states might think this talk of spring seems a bit premature, however those of us in North Texas have been noticing signs of the coming spring for several weeks now. Spring bulbs have been blooming, fruit and ornamental trees have been flowering and many other trees have begun to leaf out.

Here in North Texas, we do need to be careful not to jump the gun in planting tender vegetables or annual flowers because even though the first day of spring is after our average last freeze date (March 14), our actual latest freeze recorded was on April 13. (However if you wait to plant some tender things such as tomatoes until then, things will heat up so fast that your crop is likely to be less than if you planted now.) So just be prepared with the row covers (A lightweight sheer curtain or sheet is a reasonable substitute.) or individual plant protectors such as purchased or handmade wall o waters to protect your “babies”.

If you have a case of spring fever and need some help channeling your gardening urges to produce the results you want, please contact me to see if my garden coaching services can be of assistance. Happy gardening!

Spring Color Palate

Are you in the mood to break out of the winter drearies? Then put on some spring sunshine. Whether or not you follow the seasonal fashion color picks, you will find inspiration, and hope that spring is coming, in the Pantone Spring 2010 Color Fashion Report.

Splashes of some of these colors have been included in my new spring designs. As the season warms up, my gathering pins will do a beautiful job of pushing up your sleeves. For a bright, eye catching accent choose my OOAK carved rose necklace. Additional splashes of spring sunshine can be found by browsing EDCCollective and EclecticSkeptic. If you have a particular color combination in mind and don’t find it listed, contact EDC about a custom order. I’d love to help you bring a little sunshine to your world.

Fellow Etsian Sightings – EverythingDear

Whether by getting to know fellow Etsy team members, browsing through Etsy or hearting your favorites, one is bound to get to know at least some of the artisans’ unique styles. If you have done this, you may one day stumble across one of your recognized artisans in a brick and mortar establishment like I did recently.

My husband and I were invited to a large gathering of friends for lunch in Spring, Texas outside of Houston. Since we live in the DFW metroplex, this meant dedicating most of a Saturday to this sojourn. The organizer of our lunch didn’t realize that that particular Saturday was one of the busiest weekends for Old Town “downtown” Spring. It turns out it was their annual classic car show. The place was packed. We were lucky to find parking since the street that Google maps directed us to take was blocked and we didn’t know our way around.

We did enjoy looking at the classic cars on our way to meet our friends for lunch and noted that there were many interesting specialty shops in this area. After lunch some of us did a little shopping and looked at more of the cars. My husband and I turned out to be the only ones parked on the other side of this quaint shopping district, so after the others headed to their cars, we continued to browse some shops on the way to our car.

When we stepped into Mason's Art Gallery, the proprietor invited us to look around and let us know that her shop contained items from a wide variety of Texas artisans. As we wandered toward the back of the gallery, I noticed some prints that looked very familiar. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were the work of fellow Etsian, EverythingDear. This is a seller that is a member of one of the teams I belong to, TexasEtsyCrafters, and a seller that I have hearted. I told my husband that if we ever need a gift for a friend that is really into cats, we need to buy from this seller. Her work is every bit as good in person as it looks online.

EverythingDear’s photographic art is at its best, in my opinion, in her cat prints. They look like watercolors instead of photographs. There are also wonderful prints of flowers and butterflies. EverythingDear’s profile lists some other galleries where her work can be found. So if you are near one of these brick and mortar shops, you can get to see EverythingDear’s wonderful work in person instead of just admiring it online. (Photos in this article are from Everything Dear’s Etsy shop.)