With the temperature reaching 60 degrees yesterday (Wednesday), it sure was a great day to spend time outside! Fortunately, I live close enough to work to be able to go home for lunch (and let the dogs out). While pulling up the driveway, I was welcomed by a familiar face I haven't seen for awhile. One of the many chipmunks that call my yard home was sitting on the window sill.

I'm not only plant and pond friendly, I also like to help out my local wildlife whenever possible. So it was nice to see Chippy, after not seeing him since last November. We have had a large hawk in the area and I was afraid that while the squirrels seem to be thriving, maybe our chippies had met a terrible fate.

Yes, I know that chipmunks, moles and the like can reek havoc on a garden. But I still feel that it's their world too. So, I put out birdseed, though the squirrels and chippies tend to get the majority of it. I also put out corn, which is why I can never get any to grow in the summer (the critters tend to dig it up as soon as I turn my back).

The pluses outweigh the minuses: I love to sit out on the patio in the summer and watch the chippies run along our split rail fence to get to the seed. When they run across the lawn their little tails stand straight up, and every now and then, one will wander onto the patio, not realizing that you're there. Only to be startled when you make a move!



Also, while I've never had any luck growing fancy sunflowers (as stated above, the critters dig up and eat the seeds), the chippies have helped me out. They take great mouthfuls of the black oil sunflower seeds put out for the birds, and then burry them throughout the garden, not realizing that if left there awhile, they will sprout. Each year I have had 6- to 7-foot sunflowers, that I never planted, in places I would have never thought to plant them. And they were beautiful, thanks chippy!



Unfortunately I learned the hard way that ponds and water fountains are not always safe for our critters. More than once I fished out a drowned chippy or hapless bird. Since then I make sure I have stones or bricks piled up to the edge so they can find a way out.



The squirrels, of course, provide endless entertainment for my dogs. I have a 13- almost 14-year-old Maltese who doesn't act his age at all and two Bichon Frises who all love to chase squirrels!



And soon the rabbits will be out in droves! Each year we have at least one nest that I try to find before the dogs do. Usually a small wire garden fence around the hole will keep the dogs out, so that mom can get back and forth to feed the babies.



I take it as a great compliment that the animals find my garden as enticing as I do and hope they continue to come back each year.

Yesterday I received my first plant delivery for spring. You know, the ones you eagerly order over the long winter, while perusing numerous catalogs with colorful pictures of blooming flowers, while dreaming of what this year's garden will look like.
So, herein lies the question, to plant or not to plant?
Every catalog says that it will wait to deliver plants until the proper time to plant them, according to your "zone." Zone, of course, referring to your geological location on the U.S. map. Southeastern Pennsylvania is generally considered Zone 6. Some catalogs go even further to divide our Zone into sub-zones A and B. It's all just guessing anyway. I mean, I've planted many perennials that were supposed to be fine in Zone 6, only to find that they didn't come up again the following year -- no matter how much I mulched!!
This particular delivery contained a perennial geranium mix consisting of six different colors/varieties of geranium. If I have luck with these, I won't have to spend lots of cash on wave petunias in the future!!
Has anyone else had any luck with this particular plant? If so, any tips?
And still, the question remains, should I plant them now, even though it's still cold? Or should I put them in pots in the garage like I did with my early deliveries last year, only to find that half of them didn't like being transplanted later ... Truth be told, the last two years were not kind to spring, remaining pretty cool well into Mother's Day, which is the general date noted by gardeners in this area to be "safe" to plant. And forecasts are telling pretty much the same story this year.
At least for now, it's important to get these bare root plants out of their packaging and keep the roots a little damp until I make up my mind. I'll let you know ...

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter! Now it's time to start thinking about this year's crop of colorful blooms.
First, just a little background info, aside from my profile, to introduce myself. I've been a garden/pond enthusiast for about five years now and hope to share some of my experience with anyone who wants to read it. Hopefully some of you can pass on your tried and true tips to me and the rest of our readers. I live in Douglassville, Pa., and, after watching hours and hours of HGTV (Home & Garden), I decided I could do some landscaping around the yard. Every year it seems to grow and grow, and I don't mean just the flowers! Over the years we've (me and my poor family) added an in ground fountain, a fish pond (followed two years later by a much larger replacement pond), a gravel path with lush gardens alongside it, new landscape lighting (electric as well as solar), countless paving and wall stones, a compost bin, more gravel, more dirt, more mulch, more plants -- you get the picture. Now, what started as a small outdoor project to add some interest to the yard has become my April-October obsession!
Anyway, now that the days are getting longer and, hopefully, the weather getting warmer, it's time to get on with this year's prospects. So feel free to let me know what you're getting ready for this season and I'll be checking back in to let you know what's happening in my garden. I will be including some photos from past seasons to get started until this year's blooms are ready for publication!