Aphids! Already! And other garden news.

I was so excited to receive my onion order from Dixondale Farms this afternoon. A long storage sampler with a blend of white, red, and yellow onions. They went into the ground just a while ago.

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Check out what I found covering the upper part of two cane on my Brite Eyes climbing rose. Ugh. I have to worry about this already. The news said that temperatures are 11 degrees above normal for the month. 11 degrees! It's great to see everything blooming so early, but aphids. Gross. And some really tiny white flies. Even better! Where are the ladybugs and the resident praying mantis when I need them.

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Recently I planted my two new raspberry plants. Fall Gold and Caroline. Fall Gold has broken dormancy and appears to be doing well. Caroline looks very dead. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I also received a Reliance grape vine from the same company (Indiana Berry) that still appears very dead. The Navaho blackberry from them is breaking dormancy though. It's still too early to worry too much.

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Strawberries are now in their Al's flower pouches, hanging containers, and strawberry planters. They seem to be doing well. I do admit that it is a pain watering the pouches everyday, but the squirrels are leaving them alone. Priceless. They're still digging them out of the planters though. You win some, you lose some.

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The lilacs are in bloom in my neighbors' yards. The smell is intoxicating. Every year I'm so jealous of their blooms and wished I could snatch a few blossoms to bring in the house. Well I'm wishing no more. I caved and bought my very own lilac from Home Depot a couple of nights ago. Charles Joly. I can't wait to see how it develops over the next few years.

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Well, that's the latest around here. Happy gardening everyone!