Replacement plant for farm almost enough to keep work from getting done
I'm staring at a potted rosemary shrub that sits on the floor next to my desk. The flowers are white with a hint of purple; the plant is about 18 inches tall and exudes the aroma we strive for in our Thanksgiving Day dressings.
I bought it Friday at the Olympia Farmers Market from Chris Robinson of Spring Creek Farm in Rochester.
“I need a new rosemary plant,” I told Robinson. “I lost mine in the December 2009 freeze.”
“I hear that about 20 times a day,” Robinson said with an understanding smile.
The perennial herb grower is well-positioned to help folks like me who are filling in gaps in their home gardens and landscapes caused by that stretch of days when the thermometer stayed in the single digits, killing plants and cracking water lines from Boston Harbor to Bucoda.
All in all, we fared pretty well at Horsefeathers Farm in East Olympia. The only other plant to succumb to the hard freeze was an ornamental grass stationed by the front porch steps in a clay pot. Next to the pot is a camellia plant that didn’t flower this year because of bud frost damage, but the plant looks OK.
For the most part, the ornamentals and edibles in the ground at the farm are hardy species programmed to survive the occasional spate of harsh winter weather, not to mention the string of cold spring days and nights we’ve been experiencing of late.
A quick look around suggests the flowers, berries and fruit trees are in good shape.
The rhubarb sitting next to my dead rosemary plant has bushy green leaves and reddening stalks that will make a tasty rhubarb sauce within the next few weeks.
The primrose plants are in full bloom, next to a flowering pink currant that fills with hummingbirds and bees when the sun pops out and warms the still-damp air.
One of the three Asian pear trees started dropping flowers in the blustery weather last week. I’ll know soon enough if the bees had a chance to pollinate the flowers in time to set some fruit.
The blueberry plants and apple trees are starting to swell with buds. The lilac bushes are sprouting leaves and the majestic big-leaf maple in the back pasture – my favorite tree for watching the seasons roll by – has awakened from its winter slumber.
The vegetable garden is still a big empty space waiting for the sun to dry and warm the soil. There are a few exceptions; spinach that I planted in mid-March has stuck some tentative sprouts above the ground. The peas planted at the same time as the spinach are a no-show.
Nearby, garlic plants that received a shot of blood meal in February are robust and growing stronger by the day. The strawberries are ready to be weeded, and the chive plant is growing faster than I can use it.
The Arabian horse is starting to shed its winter coat and take on a tenuous future at the farm. My daughter has been accepted at Western Washington University as a transfer junior in the fall. She’s already hunting for an apartment in Bellingham with a friend. It’s time to find a new home for Wild Quest D, ideally an accomplished equestrian teen looking for a versatile companion for the trails and competitive riding rings.
The dog is bored and spending too much time alone during the day, looking for weak spots in the fence so he can break through and hang out with the neighbors’ pygmy goats. I can’t bear to look at his hangdog face each morning as I leave for work, but I’m also reluctant to get him a doggy pal to keep him amused.
The evening grosbeaks returned to the bird feeder three weeks ago and quickly made their presence known. I bought a fresh bag of thistle seed last week – man, that stuff is expensive – and immediately began attracting newly arrived pine siskins to that feeder.
The grass is growing faster than I can find time to mow. Fir logs from a friend’s tree-removal project are piled haphazardly under cover near the woodshed awaiting a little more bucking, splitting and stacking.
The wood will have to wait: Today is Sunday at the Masters in Augusta, Ga., where the azaleas and dogwood trees are in full bloom. I’ll watch the contenders and pretenders on the back nine, curious to see who emerges with the green jacket at golf’s first major championship of the year.
Tomorrow it’s off to Safeco Field to watch the Seattle Mariners’ home opener. With any luck, it won’t snow like it did the last time I joined 250 of Oscar Soule’s closest friends and family members for the first Mariners home game of the year.
John Dodge: 360-754-5444
jdodge@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/soundings
This story was originally published April 11, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Replacement plant for farm almost enough to keep work from getting done."