I’ve been away from garden blogging for two months and have just begun to miss it. These are the slower, gentler gardening months, so there hasn’t been too much to report, plant-wise. In December, Hubby installed lots of beautiful lights to celebrate Christmas, and Coppertop was definitely ablaze. I had two favorite areas: The new greenhouse looked amazing all lit up (sorry, no good photos) and my sister, Meg, assembled over a dozen tomato-cage trees which cheerfully dotted the deck and landscape.
Another item checked off the chore list was the division of dozens of dahlia tubers. The below photo shows about half of them. All are now stored in boxes of wood shavings until the weather warms. Although I lost a large number to rot and voles in the upper areas, plenty made it through. To those I’ve added some new orders. January is ordering month after all!
My biggest Christmas wish was for some upgrades to our garden shed. The 15 x 20′ structure needed insulation, floor mats, and efficient but affordable heating to make it more comfortable for both me and the seedlings. Hubby has been fulfilling my dreams, working hard on weekends and snow days to make the shed a welcoming oasis.
And speaking of snow days, we just had a whole week of them! School was closed Monday-Friday for 12-24 inches of the white stuff followed by freezing temps in our town. This time, our mountain area was not the hardest hit. We’re thankful the storm came right after we delivered visiting family to the airport. Coppertop was cleared without a hitch, aided by Hubby and a new beast of a snowblower. We’re now in the midst of the melting, dripping stage.
So, the daylight hours have been short, the online orders have been long, the winter winds have been weak, and the love has been strong. So strong that two wonderful people — our daughter and her sweetie — got engaged during their PNW visit a week ago. Coppertop will be the site of their garden wedding on August 15. Woop!!
More soon from me about maple tree tapping and the exciting plant orders.
Gardens at Coppertop 
Welcome back. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s going on in your beautiful garden in the coming seasons.
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Thank you. It’s good to be back!
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Great snow pictures March and congratulations to your daughter and her future husband !
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Thanks for the kind words, Fred!
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Welcome back. I missed seeing your beautiful garden. You now have a reason to drive you through the spring and early summer. Preparing for a garden wedding is a great excuse for adding to the garden beds. Have fun and don’t stress too much. Your daughter will be the most beautiful flower in the garden on her and her fiance’s big day.
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You are so right about a great reason to drive me, Lisa! Your sweet words are appreciated.
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That’s a lot of snow and dahlia tubers! No wonder we’ve not had any snow here in Ohio, you’re getting it all, which is quite fine with me.
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Hi over there, Cindy! Good to see you. You’ve been a faithful blogger, and I always enjoy your posts. The snow is quickly disappearing, but may make another appearance before winter’s over. Yep, lots of tubers and many more orders!
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Nice to have to back. How exciting having the wedding in your garden. I look forward to seeing the photos.
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Thank you, Chloris.
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I’m sorry I missed this two and a half weeks ago. I had to skip ahead because I was so far behind, so might only see what you posted since February 5 anyway.
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Hi Tony! I have some catching up to do as well. I’m seeing this on Valentine’s Day — have a good one.
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