The snow is gone from the garden, though rain/snow is likely this week. If the rain turns to snow it won't stay long. I spent a lot of the weekend puttering about outside, admiring the garlic, strawberries and raspberries that came through the winter. Cleaned up around the beds and hoed some early sprouting weeds. Pruned the pear tree. I planted early vegetables in two small raised beds: favas, spinach, mache, kale, radishes, endive, lettuce, arugula, minutina and claytonia. I got another bed ready for peas. In the greenhouse I have many flats started of vegetables, herbs and flowers. At the garden center I bought two nice large plastic pots and a beautiful huge bowl-like terra cotta pot. I'll order a Meyer lemon for that pot. I bought a dwarf spruce topiary for one plastic pot and will shop for a bay laurel for the other. In order to complete my vegetable garden expansion and get a lawn area ready to plant I need to get someone with a tractor to come as soon as the ground is workable. I plan to put in a small low-water gramma grass lawn and xeriscape flower bed in the back yard. That area needs to be tilled and leveled. I want to double the size of the vegetable garden (all along the side yard) and fill the small front yard with raised beds for herbs and flowers, with gravel walkways between the beds. For that area I need to have the ground leveled into two terraces, as it slopes down towards the west. My soil is rocky, so I bring in topsoil and compost from the landfill green waste program for the beds themselves. I already feel pressed for time. If the tractor can't get in soon, or doesn't show up as happened several times last year, I won't have enough beds ready to plant all the starts I have in the greenhouse. I'm so glad spring is here, I hope is a long one. Ellen

I tried it and it IS round and round we go. I finally got to the listing for the journal's url, which connected to the same page as what I got when clicking on making a journal entry which insists that I connect to the help page which tells me that I can comment on hortiplex's plants. At no point, no matter what I clicked, did it lead to a page for making journal entries. Ptui.

Calliope and Rob's comments about Bulgaria in my patio thread got me thinking I should talk about what I know of the country and the trip before I go, and this is probably the most appropriate thread in which to do so... We are going because we have a lot of Bulgarian friends, and we have a priceless opportunity to see a new place in the company of insiders. We will be staying with a good friend who is a naturalized American but still keeps her apartment in Sophia. Also traveling with us is another native who now has an American passport, his wife (who's from ND, so you know she's cool!), and their 18 year old son. We'll also be visiting my girlfriend's parents, whom we've met before and who live in an apartment in the same building, and the wife of my girlfriend's brother. The brother is also a good friend of ours. He has a green card, so can't be out of the US for more than 6 months... and the wife is waiting for her green card and can't come here until she gets it... oh, and she's about 8 months pregnant. My friends promise to introduce me to a wide circle of family and friends. Most don't speak English, but my friends will translate... plus I understand I'll be able to converse with some friends in French... and I do speak a bit of Russian, if they'll forgive me for communicating in the language of a former oppressor. If all else fails, I'm a dang good mime. I'm actually surprised at how much Bulgarian I'm able to understand, and I can read the alphabet. We're planning on spending some time cooking together, some time visiting historic sites, like Rila Monestary, and some time at the Black Sea. From what I am told, these are some of the most beautiful beaches in Europe. I suggested we hit Greece, since we'll be so close, but I was met with disdain (and Bulgarian pride), after all, Greek beaches are horrible pebbly places, while Bulgarian beaches are beautiful and covered in sand. Bulgaria was dominated for centuries by the Ottomans, and there are lots of residual Turkish influences. Lots of Greek and Russian influences too. They are proud people, and while they have adopted many of the foods and customs of people who have dominated them over the years (they seem to be gifted at choosing the losing side in wars), they can be a bit touchy about the whole thing and are quick to point out All Things Bulgarian. For instance, Bulgarian doesn't use the Russian alphabet, Russia uses the Bulgarian (Cyrillic) alphabet. Bulgaria is part of the EU, but they haven't converted their currency yet. They produce most of the world's supply of rose oil, a component in nearly all perfumes. I was disappointed to learn the rose farms will not be in full bloom, because areas of the country feature valleys full of roses as far as the eye can see, and the scent is supposed to be heavenly. Oh, and nodding the head = "no" and shaking the head = "yes". Apparently this is the source of much confusion with outsiders. I have been told that this is because Bulgarians are largely comprised of three tribes of horsemen, and this body language emulates that of horses... (they nod when agitated) but I don't know whether or not that's an apocryphal explanation... We're leaving this week and will be gone for a while. I promise to take lots of pictures and post stories when I'm back and over my jet lag.

Hi Mulberryknob - I agree with your assessment. I do have a somewhat more elaborate plan than having the vines grow up the handles. I'm not very handy, though so I'll have to see if it really works out. I have several five gallon buckets that I'll be planting in this summer. I thought what I'd do is sink a handle into the side of each of two fully planted buckets, put the planted buckets about a handle-distance apart from each other, and then affix a horizontal handle across the top, connecting the two uprights together. This would be my trellis handle-frame. Then, I plan to hang trellis netting from the handle-frame for the pea-vines to grow on. I'll be building a small berm in which to plant the peas, which will take up the ground space between the two buckets. I'm not sure, but I may also have to stake out the buckets to keep the handle-frame trellis contraption from keeling over in the wind. This is either going to work or flop fantastically, but I'm up for the challenge! Given that almost everything I'm using this summer is salvaged and scrounged, I figure what's the worst that could happen? Hmmmm. . . Carrie