Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Just got through watering the orchids and other plants in the sunroom. Took the amaryllis's out from the cellar and repotted them while there I saif hello to the geraniums and others that are lying dormant and waiting for winter in make a hasty exit. Now it's off to the garage to fuel up the snowblower.

No snow here @ almost 2pm. Thinking it may miss us. I was hoping for some. Still not getting too focused on gardening yet. Look at the date, February 10th. This winter is flying by!

It's been raining here in Plymouth, although I see a few flakes mixing in. The NOAA Weather Alert radio keeps saying that it will turn colder soon and then we'll get hit with a lot of wet snow.

Except for feeding the birds I've been dealing with computer issues (trials and tribulations of dial-up service). I'm telling myself I really like to see the world all brown and tan with isolated dark green spots. It would be nice to see some flowers though.

Claire

Well, there is a little snow spitting out there now and a dusting on the ground. I was just looking out the window at the birds and the snow coming down and thinking about the fact that it is already Feb 10th and I just realized, I have to get in gear for gardening! lol I need to get out and start pruning if there is any to do and start making some definite decisions about what's first on the list this year. I just placed an order for a couple of roses from Pickering, thanks to recommendations from people here on the NE Forum. Now to figure out where they are going.

The computer has been slow here, Claire, even with cable.

At 4 PM the local news changed the snow total to 2-4", so that's good. I filled the bird feeders this morning, and they're ignoring the snow to get more sunflower seeds. The male cardinal has gotten his glowing breeding red on and looks gorgeous against the snow.

Those computer issues: I was unable to log onto GardenWeb all afternoon until now.

Carol

It has been very cold here in South Carolina this winter. A dusting of snow possible here on Friday. Yesterday my yard was literally seething with a large flock of robins that just dropped out of the heavens as I was looking out the window. They emptied my birdbaths quickly, spent about ten minutes resting and then rose skyward in one mass. Looked as though they were turning north and headed your way.

Carol,

I couldn't log on earlier either. It was the server not our computers.

Still not much snow here in Providence. It's been snizzling* since 9AM or so on and off but just a dusting settled on grass and bushes. The pavement is only wet. The wind has picked up a bit in the last half hour, so we may get some snow in a while.

*snizzling - as far as I know a word I invented. Drizzling snow.

The problem with the GW server was just the icing on the cake for me. For a while yesterday I couldn't even get online, and I spent way too much time on hold on a phone, multiple phone calls, trying to get a solution. At least I'm back.

I like that "snizzling" Bill. Well, I like the term, not the reality.

Claire

heh heh snizzling, I'll have to use that. As usual the newscaster made it sound like the storm of the century and I got a whopping 5 inches of snow...woo hoo, if that. Well at least the shoveling was easy, now hopefully it won't turn into ice again :( I know that the days are going quickly but I still can't wait until the end of March...my new plants from all the online nurseries will be coming in :) YAY!! Rhodies, Hydrangeas, Azaleas OH MY!! Well after my umpteenth trip to my trays, my hostas, hollyhock, impatiens, blue fescue and balloon flowers are all sprouting. I'm ready to do some real gardening this spring! hhmmmm, now I need a few days of clear skies and 40's so that I can clean the weed(mean garden) beds out and maybe get some more of that da@&%d pachysandra out of of my front yard....hate that stuff.

Well, this turned out to be a non-storm here in metrowest Boston. We got a total of 1/2 inch accumulation. :) It is remarkable that the regions south of here, that normally get less snow or rain, is getting hammered this year! Mother nature is weird.

Cat - I've dug out huge amount of vinca minor - similar to Pachysandra. Practically every garden bed I have used to have lots of Vinca. The easiest way to get rid of it that I've discovered, is mow it down low, layer cardboard or newspaper and then cover with wood chips/leaves and wait for it to die. Although it's quicker to dig it out if you're in a hurry.

I've been having computer issues too - but they are now solved due to a new monitor and a new hard drive.

You know I actually decided that I was going to put down landscape fabric to get a clean start, the previous owner of this house had a thing for herbs and I have loads of thyme, dill and of course pachysandra everywhere. I'm just gonna kill it all, tried giving it all away and darned stuff just kept growing all back!! I like my herbs really I do but enough is enough I want some FLOWERS LOL LOL

Storm was also a non-event here in Providence. Less than two inches and as far as the wind, my grandma could blow out her birthday candles with more force! LOL!

I'm glad they were wrong for here, but I did see where areas not too far away got up to 7 inches or so. Still, I remember when I had to walk to school in that much or worse. (Geez I sound like my parents did!!!). But then we didn't have the media hype and a gazillion school closing announcements. We just needed to grab boots and hats when we left for school.

Oh yikes, many people have bad experiences with landscape fabric. I tried using it many years ago - maybe they've improved the material - but it was awful, and this seems to be a common opinion. It isn't that easy to lay down, it bunches up, it gets punctured and weeds grow through anyway, AND last but not least, it doesn't break down for a long time. By that time, lots of roots have grown through and it ends up being difficult to remove. If you want to move your perennials around, then it's real fun dealing with that mess.

It's better to use an organic mulch in the long run. Cardboard or newspaper along with mulch gives you pretty good weed control for about a year and you can smother sod or weeds or groundcovers underneath at the same time, all of which are quite the effort to weed or dig out. Breaks down eventually into a nice organic matter that enriches the soil. The worms actually love the paper.

Not that I don't still dig garden beds, I just dug one last fall - wanted to plant it right away and I fuss and muss with placement so much.

They say you can't be too thin or too rich, but I think you can't have too many flowers. :)

Got about two inches of frozen snizzle here. My first task was to shovel out a few areas for the birds that feed on the ground and sprinkle some seed. Then I went to get the paper (my priorities are clear here).

The winds were strong last night, but not as bad as predicted. My biggest problem is with the frozen snizzle on my two Ilex opaca Goldies. They're bent over like birches and I can't shake the stuff off them like I did with the snow in the last storm. I'm just hoping it warms up enough to melt the ice so the hollies can stand up again.

View out my window this morning with the storm clouds pulling away and the sun trying to come out (note the wimpy shadows):

Claire

Cat, about the only thing landscape fabric is good for is making a Halloween costume. Been there, done that, not going back! terrene is right - use The Hartford Courant or The New Haven Register - cheaper and better.

200 seedlings! Wow. Hope they all grow beautifully!

Jane

Cat, I would have to add that there are applications where landscape fabric fits the bill. I agree that it is a poor solution in most instances. I tried landscaping fabric many years ago under a tree and it caused lots of problems. Landscape fabric then, was more a plastic than a fabric. But in the last couple of years, we decided to try it again, in two applications where it works well. One is under mulch in the area around my vegetable beds. We had tried the newspaper/cardboard mulch and it would break down too fast and we would be back to doing a lot of weeding in that area. We've had the landscape fabric down for two years and it really has made a big difference for us. The other is under the fence along our property line. Our neighbors have grass butting up to our mulched area and grass was constantly creeping under the fence, so a narrow strip of landscape fabric has been helping to keep that from happening. I would not use it to mulch over plants at all, for the reasons already given.