Frost Warnings Over--Now We Need Rain

Today I came out of the grocery to the smell that occurs before rain!  I love that smell but to some people it is obnoxious.  The smell before a rain immediately makes me feel like a kid again.  I found out on The Straight Dope that is caused by geosmin or bacteria in the soil and the smell is called petrichor.

While I'm waiting for real spring days to arrive, I am trying other growing projects.  At garden club Monday night, we had Jeff and Karen Woodward from Woodward Greenhouses visit to demonstrate the making of succulent wreaths.  Here's the project I made that evening photographed in this morning's bright sunshine.  This wreath won't need water for a week since it is made of spaghnum moss.

My daughter brought me three tulip bulbs she started to force in a peanut butter jar. I found a vase and some clear marbles in which to place them that would allow the roots to be in water.

One thing you need to be careful about is to keep the bulbs above the water line.  Notice in the reflections on the glass vase what a clear sky and bright sunshine we had in the early morning-- followed by thunderstorms in the early afternoon and a calm, mild late afternoon and early evening.

Gardening is all about the water!  With April starting this weekend some of our water problems outside should be corrected.