Ten reasons you should be working outside now (even in Northern Nevada):

1. You need exercise. If you're like me and have trouble following through with plans to exercise, you need to incorporate exercise into your daily activities.
2. You need sunshine and nature for your mental health. All year round.
3. You need vitamin D.
4. Repetitive tasks are relaxing and free the mind to solve problems. I couldn't find a good link to document this, but it definitely works for me. (Some forms of meditation involve repetitive motions.)
5. Jackets keep you just as warm while you're working outside as they do when you're walking out to your car. They also protect your arms from scratchy branches. If you try to work around blackberry bushes or spruce trees with bare arms this summer, you'll wish you'd done it now.
6. Your hands will be warm because you always wear gloves when you work in your garden, right?
7. You will get warmer as you work.
8. It's easier to see what needs to be done when branches are bare and plants on the ground are dead, and the ground is moist if you need to do any digging. (I don't recommend working outside when the ground is wet; besides the mess, it's not good for the soil. However, you can't use this excuse very long because the ground dries out faster than you think.)
9. Snakes and insects are dormant, so you can wade into overgrown places on your property without fear. They are still dormant, right?
10. You will get a lot of garden chores done. Now, I can never push myself outside just to get chores done when it's cold and blustery. And I never seem to be able to fit exercising into my day. But, for some reason I've been able lately to convince myself to go out for 30-45 minutes a day just to move around and get some fresh air and natural daylight. The fact that I'm getting things done that I've put off for years is a side benefit.

Just to be clear, the best things to be doing outside right now are cleanup, digging up unwanted plants, and pruning. Warning: Don 't prune shrubs that bloom in early spring (such as forsythia and lilac) because you would be cutting off the flower buds. Local experts also recommend waiting until April or so to prune roses to prevent their getting a lot of early growth that might freeze back in a spring frost.

It's also too early to plant most things; research first. The fact that local stores will have plants for sale does not mean it's safe to plant them! If you absolutely have to have some color, start with pansies and snapdragons. They should be fine.

        

Sunbreak: When the sun appears in a cloudy sky for a little while, then gets covered again.Commonly used in Seattle, WA. (UrbanDictionary.com).

We had a perfect example of a sunbreak at the end of the day today. After a day of clouds, hail, and rain, I suddenly noticed the sun was shining. While I was admiring the light making the water drops in the trees look like jewels, I noticed the willow tree a block over is starting to leaf out. It's official! Spring is near.

I tried to get pictures of the jewel-like water drops, but it was impossible. They look best with the sun behind them, and of course it's impossible (at least for me) to photograph into the sun. I tried shading the camera, but it didn't work.

I did discover a robin (Turdus migratorius) in the crabapple tree while I was outside. Now that I've looked up the scientific name, I'll have to try not to think "migrating turd" every time I see one. Since I mention the birds liking the crabapples in my tree in every other post, I won't point out what the robin is doing in the photo.



Since I've been seeing green on the ground ever since December's snow melted, I haven't really been counting it as a sign of spring. However, I think the picture below shows that plants are ready to rip.

This is a corner of what I call my "kitchen garden" because It's a few steps away from the patio door and because it has a few herbs in it. You can see chives and lavender at the top, chamomile (I think and hope) in the middle, and a ground cover and bulbs at the bottom. I'm mainly showing the picture to make the statement that I have lots of cleanup work to do here!





If you can believe the current weather forecast (I'm laughing hysterically along with you), it's supposed to be sunny tomorrow. If it's actually more than a sunbreak, I hope to take care of some of this.

        

        

If you use Facebook, please consider being a fan of the new Rabbitbrush Ranch page. I plan to post brief updates there more often than I write blog posts.

The page will also be a place where you will be welcome to post photos of your own yard (or indoor plants). I would really like to see what's going on in your garden!

        

I was going to use "debris" in the title, but that would mock the people in Southern California who have real rain-caused debris in their streets, yards, and homes this afternoon. I just went through the photo gallery on the LA Times site. What a mess.

There's still not much going on in my yard yet, but I did clean up the plastic we put over our raised beds last year. Lesson learned: If you have plastic outdoors that's starting to break up, get it out of the yard before it disintegrates into a bunch of little pieces you'll be finding all over the place for months. I think I caught it before it got too out of control.

Lesson I hope my neighbor learns: If you put up a wall of plastic foliage, the leaves will turn blue and then blow into your neighbors' yards every time there's a windstorm.

As I vowed last year, I'm not trying to start any seeds inside this year. However, I did buy some sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes, or Helianthes tuberosus) at the grocery store the other day. I bought them just to plant them (I'll worry about recipes when I get my first harvest—wouldn't want to rush into anything). I was surprised to see in the Sunset guide that it's in the sunflower family. It "spreads readily and can become a pest," so it might have a chance under my care. I think this is the time to plant it (outdoors).

I have another new vegetable on my list for this year: parsnip. I bought one a few weeks ago just to see what it tasted like, and I was pleasantly surprised. If it's sweet, it's for me. Geez, if Mom had been feeding us parsnips when we were kids instead of canned peas and lima beans, maybe we wouldn't have all grown up hating vegetables.

Last but not least, I've set up a Facebook page for my blog, and I'd be very flattered if you became a fan.I think I'll post quick updates there more often than I write full-length posts. (If the link doesn't work, search for Rabbitbrush Ranch.)

I enjoy rainy days because they remind me of my home state of Oregon. I think now I'm going to go have a cup of tea and appreciate the fact my home is warm and dry.

        

This is what we saw all along I-5 from Oregon to Sacramento yesterday. Sigh.

        

I'll have to get the new Western Garden Book of Edibles: The Complete A-Z Guide to Growing Your Own Vegetables, Herbs, and Fruits, just published by Sunset Books. (Maybe they should have called it "Soup to Nuts" because it covers nuts, too.)

It includes instructions on growing in containers as well as in the ground, planning kitchen gardens, composting, building raised beds, and more. Of course it provides growing season details for all regions of the West, which is what makes it especially valuable to western gardeners.

I've grown ornamentals for years but have been trying to grow food for just the past few years. I've found that the requirements for food plants are more complicated and not at all flexible. My second season was more successful than the first, so I'll keep trying.

        

Do you grow seeds? Produce seeds? Farm seeds? Whatever the right verb is, local people are doing it and selling the results. I learned about Mewaldt Organics  from the Local Food Northern Nevada blog. They sell miscellaneous vegetable and herb seeds (plus the Jerusalem artichoke tubers I've been looking for) and have lots of tomato, pepper, and eggplant seeds. LFNN author Shelley urges readers to shop early because once this year's seeds are gone, more can't be grown/produced/farmed until next season.

        

"
Not all trees need to be pruned." This good news comes in an article by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Leslie Allen in today's RGJ. (As with all RGJ articles, be sure to visit the link within the next couple of weeks because it will disappear.)

More good news from the article for the not-so-ambitious gardener: "Trees have a natural ability to heal over pruning cuts, so there is no need to apply pruning sealants or dressings to the cuts." Yay!

The article has good information about when you do need to prune trees and how to do it.. The Truckee Meadows Community Forestry Coalition also has good information on its site.

Apparently this weekend would be a good time to prune trees. You can see the branches clearly without leaves, and this is the best weather we're going to have for a while since a series of storms is coming in next week.

        

The disgust in my neighbor's voice shocked me. "She sends us an amaryllis plant for Christmas every year. I hate amaryllises. Would you like it?"

I hoped my ears weren't playing tricks on me. I'd been looking for a cheap amaryllis bulb, and this was almost too good too be true. I said weakly, "You don't like amaryllises? I love them!" She replied, "I can't stand them." Trying to explain, she continued, "One year when we opened it, the leaves had already started to grow in the box!" The horror! (She allowed that she could tolerate the plants but only once they're in bloom.)

I hurried over to claim it before she changed her mind. While I shop around trying to find amaryllis bulbs for $5, my neighbor's relative had ordered this one from Harry & David and probably paid six times as much. It was pre-planted in a cute, reusable box planter with a moss mulch. All I had to do was add water, as they say. That was a few weeks ago, and this is what it looks like this week.

How could anyone hate this plant? I don't understand. However, if amaryllis bulbs have become the new fruitcake, I'll be happy to take any and all rejects. I'm hoping my neighbor's relative continues the tradition for a long time.

True confessions

Instead of buying paperwhite bulbs to force indoors this winter, I decided to buy ranunculus bulbs (tubers) with the intention of planting some outside and some in pots for indoors. Then I checked the Sunset guide, and it says, "In coldest climates, grow ranunculus in greenhouse, plant after frosts." It also says they need perfect drainage. That's a little intimidating! I may have to try the "wintersown" technique on them. In the meantime, the unopened bag is still sitting on the counter.

I'm too embarrassed to show a current photo of the beautiful poinsettia I showed you in November. One branch broke off for an unknown reason, and a lot of the lower leaves have fallen off. I've tried to keep it watered evenly, and it gets plenty of bright, indirect light. This is why I hate to spend very much on houseplants.

While I'm in confession mode, I might as well tell you that all the seeds I saved from last summer are still sitting on the counter, too. They're near a heater vent, and I'm sure the dryness is not doing anything to help this spring's germination rates.

Hope lives

On the other hand, a couple of plants I brought in from the patio last fall are hanging in there.

One is the heliotrope. I love them, but I've never been able to keep one alive throughout the winter. I know this one (below, right) looks skimpy, but it's still alive and has even bloomed since I brought it in. I've been conscientious about keeping it watered, which I think is the key and which I'm not very good at.

The plant on the left is one I tried for the first time last summer, a duranta. I bought it as an annual flower for the patio but learned it's actually an evergreen shrub. It's too cold to plant it outdoors here, but I'm willing to keep repotting it and bringing it indoors during the winter as long as it does well. I've been amazed that it seems as happy in my house as out on the patio. It has bloomed since I brought it in, too.

I'm trying to keep a fuchsia going, too, but it looks way too bad to show a photo of it. I've never succeeded in keeping one of those alive all winter, either. However, I hate to dump them before they're dead.

Wish them all luck—it will be months before they can go back out on the patio!