mears garden

Greetings Our machines stopped working this week. On Monday morning the ten year old desktop just would not wake up. It took a couple of days for the replacement to be identified and ordered. No...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/05/may-5-2023-little-out-of-control.html

April is just about over. The cool weather of the last month has meant the garden is back to about normal. As I post this it is raining. We have had over an inch. 4 inches plus in April.  The ...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/04/april-28-2024-full-speed-ahead.html

Julia flew away to Maine for a week yesterday. Right before she left the washing machine stopped working, for a while. Earlier in the week the computer was very slow. I had trouble moving picture...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/04/april-21-2024-something-new-every-day.html

After a cool  few weeks, the above-normal-temperature weather is back. It got to 80 yesterday. That seemed much warmer than 80 degrees will feel like in July. Windows have been open much of the ...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/04/april-14-2024-hot-weather-comes.html

We closed the week with some sunny skies, as most of Iowa held its breath while Catlin Clark worked her magic. I actually watched the end of the game Friday with Connecticut. I also did laundry. ...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/04/april-6-2024-and-it-feels-like-april.html

Time passes. March is going out the door. Goodbye crocuses and aconite and snowdrops. Hello daffodils. I think about what is next. Bluebells, of both varieties. Then the little iris. Tree peo...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/03/march-31-2024-goodbye-march.html

What a week. First, now that spring is officially here, the temperatures stayed below normal, all week. That included a couple of nights when it got down to 20 degrees. I guess on some level, i...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/03/march-24-2024-we-have-winner.html

Spring arrives this week. It has actually been here for weeks.  The early daffodils, the real heralds of spring, are popping open lots of places. Friday, on our morning walk, we even saw a tul...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/03/march-17-2024-finals-spring-is-here.html

Greetings We had some rain. Finally. It actually rained during three days, accumulating over an inch. It was one of those rains farmers would call "million dollar rains." It was gradual, all g...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/03/march-10-2024-week-3-of-playoffs.html

        Our record warm February is done. Now we look to the future. In the last part of the blog I write a little about another very warm February, in 2012. What can one say about  the com...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/03/march-3-2024-week-2-of-playoffs.html

  It is absolutely glorious in the garden. The aconite and snowdrops have been joined by the crocuses to create this wonderful swirl of color. I was outside for 4-5 hours yesterday. I am a lit...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/02/february-25-2024-week-1-of-playoffs.html

It is Friday evening, and the temperature is still falling. During the day it reached a cold 32 degrees. There had even been a dusting of snow on the ground to start the day. Then there was a sti...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/02/february-18-2024-week-13-still-little.html

It is difficult not to write about the weather.  It has been remarkable. Nice with a dose of concern. This is from this week. February 8, 2024 February 8, 2024 It begins to look like...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/02/february-11-2024-week-12-aconite-has.html

 The snow is mostly gone.  Many spring bulbs are coming up, and it is the first week of February. I think all those little shoots are early spring crocuses. I do wonder how they will be in a ...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/02/february-4-2024-week-11-snow-is-mostly.html

Welcome to Week #10.   Last week I was waiting for it to get to 30 degrees. That happened, bringing cloudy skies and fog. The temperature difference all week (high and low) was about 5 de...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/01/january-28-2024-week-10-it-is-melting.html

It is bitterly cold again.  I look out the window this Sunday morning, and it is -10 degrees. Actually that is a little warmer than last week at this time. It had warmed up for a few days,...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/01/january-21-2024-week-9-one-more-day-of.html

Welcome to winter in Iowa. Winter finally arrived. Winter is making up for the fact it was late in arriving. We had 15 inches of snow on Wednesday. That was followed by maybe another 4-5 inc...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/01/january-14-2024-week-8-winter-is-here.html

It is a new year. The garden season has begun. The first seeds have sprouted. I have ordered my poppy seeds along with a bunch of caladium. I was panicked a little by the first notice of a "sol...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2024/01/january-7-2024-new-year-begins-week-7.html

GOODBYE 2023  HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL OF US, INCLUDING THE PUMPKINS The absurdly warm weather lasted through Tuesday. Temperatures were in the 50's for 3 days in a row. We even had rain.�...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2023/12/december-31-2023-week-6-look-for-new.html

It is dark, but the days are getting longer. Daylight today will be 9 hours, nine minutes and 27 seconds. That is 14 seconds longer than Wednesday, which was the solstice. By the end of the month...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2023/12/december-24-2023-week-5-happy-holidays.html

Saturday morning, 6 a.m. It is dark and will be dark for a while. That is even more so as it is cloudy with a little drizzle. When this goes to print it will be 4 days until the shortest day ...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2023/12/december-17-2023-week-4-of-contest.html

Welcome to the picture contest. Welcome to this little place to escape and move towards Spring. Goodness gracious. Look what appeared out of nowhere on Thursday. It was a little Sternbergi...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2023/12/december-10-2023-which-means-week-3-of.html

Welcome to Week #2 of the Picture Contest. It is December. One full month of the inside time for the garden has passed. Last Sunday we woke up to winter. It was only 1-2 inches. Nevertheless,...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2023/12/december-3-2023-week-2-of-contest.html

Welcome to the Mears Garden blog. This week  the winter picture contest for 2023-24 begins. But before we look at pictures it is a time to reflect. It is a time to give thanks. It is a time to...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2023/11/november-26-2023-happy-thanksgiving-let.html

I remember Thanksgiving weeks from the past. They would usually mark the line when the cold started. Until that point the garden would limp along with bits of green here and there. Hardy perennia...

http://mearsgarden.blogspot.com/2023/11/november-19-2023-memories.html