Almost six months since my last post? How is it that time passes so quickly? Today is exactly NINE YEARS since my very first post about Coppertop gardens. Recently, taking photos of the garden has taken a back seat to much else, from travels to enjoying the grandchildren. Autumn was lovely and rather warm.

Snow began in late November and is always particularly beautiful on the evergreens in this part of the country. We’ve had a decent amount of snow this winter, but nothing overwhelming. Currently, we’re back to 98% green, with scattered patches of snow in some shady spots at our elevation.

Since mid-January I’ve been busy in the garden shed starting seeds. This has coincided with a class I’m helping with for new master gardeners in our county. Three sessions of seed starting have been included this year in their curriculum. We have 38 new trainees in this year’s class, and they are an accomplished bunch.

Two new-to-me plants I’m growing from seed this year are Hibiscus acetosella ‘Mahogany Splendor’ and a few colors of Pelargonium x hortorum or zonal geraniums in the Mavericks series. With climate change, our summers seem to be getting increasingly warmer, so these new plants should thrive here this summer and fall.

I’ve moved flats of baby onions and sweet peas (already pinched back one time) to the unheated greenhouse. They join the 2nd-year perennials in gallon pots that will be donated to our May plant sale. Dozens of foxgloves, delphiniums, rudbeckia, hollyhocks, and lupines have been potted on and are ready to go.

Excitement builds as Spring approaches, evidenced by the first tulips breaking through the soil and hellebores blooming.