Hyacinth

There are several different varieties of hyacinth. The most common are Grape Hyacinth and the kind pictured above, Hyacinthus orientalis. Hyacinth comes from a bulb and is poisonous. It needs a cold winter to bloom every year which is why it does well in Rhode Island. We planted our hyacinth bulbs near the front door since they have a wonderfully strong perfume aroma.

Magnolia

A couple of years ago Karen bought me a small Star Magnolia tree. We planted it in the front year and it has been doing well. It is still small, but this year was the first year it had a full bloom. Magnolia, I've sometimes heard it called Tulip Tree, blooms in the spring in Rhode Island. This picture really doesn't show off how nice the tree looks, but in a few years this specimen should be a real show stopper every spring.

Greenhouse

After two years of trial and error and six months working on this project, the greenhouse is finally up and operational. I certainly learned the hard way not to cut corners or scimp when building a greenhouse. Several earlier editions tried using PVC pipe for the greenhouse frame. These plastic frames ulimately failed in high winds. So, last year, with a lot of help from Fletch and Karen's brother Jeff, I finally was able to frame out the greenhouse and get the steel hoops in place. Karen helped me pull the plastic skin over the frame (on a very windy day!) and her experience with greenhouses helped me secure it down. So far so good. We have had big storms and high winds and everything is still in place. As you can see from the picture above, we have moved tables into the greenhouse. I have also put a potting bench in there with seed starter mix, fertilizer and a wireless thermostat. The greenhouse is small by commercial standards (only 28'x14') but when I am inside it seems like a lot of space. I've already planted several flats of lettuce and other greens and expect to plant several flats of tender annuals next weekend.

Spring is here!

It's been a rough winter in Hope Valley. There was lots of snow this year and hard blowing winds. However, it looks like most of our plants came out none worse for the wear. The first sign of spring is when the crocus pop up. They are still blooming at One Love Farm. The next sign is when daffodils bloom. While we are a few weeks behind the rest of Rhode Island due to our location in a low lying valley, protected tete a tetes (mini daffodils) are in full bloom! It won't be long now!

Lilacs

Last fall we moved lilacs from an unprotected area in front of the house to behind the house near a wall (see post below). Although we had a harsh winter in Hope Valley, the lilacs seem to be thriving this spring. We are very much looking forward to watching their progress throughout the spring and summer.