a bit of green...

The snow is finally melting away after having been on the ground for near two weeks. I know, for the Northern folks, two weeks is not a long time but for down here it is rather unusual and I am no longer used to 5 months of full blown winter. Today, All that remains of the snow is piles where the drifts were, ridges and bumps where shady spots are(and there are plenty of those around), and blobs of snow people parts. There is however, lots of mud now so things are looking pretty brown and ugly. Since it was near 4o this morning and not raining, I went out to get my green on and take a few pictures of what is surprisingly, to me, still alive and waiting for some milder weather to grow again.

Walking around the herb beds, many are still green. Fever few, chamomile, savory, sage, walking onion, garlic, leeks, oregano, catnip, parsley, mint, mtn mint and lemon balm are all able to be plucked and used. Chick weed and dandelions are also everywhere.

In the gardens: the cabbage, kale, turnips, spinach, lettuce, mesclun, and chard as well as mustard, turnip, and collard greens are all still very alive. Many of the older leaves are dead and need to be trimmed off but there is still living green matter and they will grow back. These have all been left to the elements with no coverings or green house over them.
In the green house everything is doing well. Growth is slow and steady but nothing has died all winter in there with the exception of the mouse that fell in my water pail. The only protection I have given the plants in there is a layer of plastic over the tops of the beds, containers and tables on the very cold nights. There has been no heat and there is no fan to inflate the two outer layers of plastic to hold heat in. I do have a bit of slug damage in there that I have to get under control, buggers chewed a few of my plants pretty good but all things considered, I think things are fairing quite well. I know after wandering about for a little while and getting my green on I certainly felt a little better than I have been lately.