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Still have patches of snow in the shady corners at our cabin. Will be choosing my annuals cheap and cheerful this year, it isn't usually safe to plant much before June 1st here it is so cold at night still.
Patty that geranium is beautiful, what a red.
I had not heard of the "Three Ice men" before.
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weathe...three-ice-men/
Perhaps you’ve heard the old proverb that warns not to plant until after the “Three Ice Men” have passed, but do you know who these mysterious Ice Men are? The tradition comes from Northern Europe, and is tied to the successive feasts of St. Mamertus, St. Pancras, and St. Servatius, whose respective days occur on May 11, 12, and 13. They are also sometimes referred to as the “Three Chilly Saints.”
In Europe’s not-too-distant past, parts of the continent remained rather cold through the middle of May, making planting before then risky. German and Swiss lore refers to mid-May as “Iceman Days,” while an old French saying states “St. Mammertius, St. Pancratius and St. Gervatius (the Francophone spelling of the three saints’ names) do not pass without a frost.” Because the agrarian people of medieval Europe weren’t likely to be literate, let alone aware of calendar dates, they measured time by observing nature and by the church calendar. Remembering that the last frost of the year generally falls around the feast of Servatius was a useful marker for pre-modern farmers.
In some regions, the lore goes on to note that rain will fall on feast of St. Sophia, marking the beginning of planting season. For this reason, May 15 is referred to as “Zimna Zośka,” or “Cold Sophia” in Poland.
One point of interest is that this bit of lore dates back to before the creation of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, at which time most days of the year shifted somewhat. While the feasts of the Three Chilly Saints are still celebrated from May 11-13 on our calendar, these days used to fall a little later in the astronomical year – from May 19-22.
Do you wait until after the Ice Men to plant your garden in spring? Share your thoughts.
Patty, never heard of that; very interesting.
Me as well Patty, never heard of this before.Interesting and it certainly relates to the Alberta theory, never safe to plant until June 1st!
I can see monkshood leaves coming up, lily tips, crabapple leaves, iris tips
Quote:
Originally Posted by Natalka
I love gardening, there's a lifetime of learning :)
Got many of my pots ready today. Planted just the 5 red geraniums in the front.
I was looking at videos this week and funny enough I bought at Target on 70% clearance some Epsom salts and the video was saying to make a mixtures of Epsom salts, baking soda, compost( I used shrimp compost I got on clearance last year) and powdered milk(or bone meal for calcium). I put a nice scoopful in each pot. We shall see what this does.
Well because we've had awesome weather here this weekend its helping my fibromyalgia, so I couldnt resist planting these last couple days. I did my veggy garden, did peas, lettuce, yellow and green beans, beets, zucchini. Those I figure are safe. Then because it was so nice today again I planted my tomatos and pepper plants. I also brought out all my plants I started from seed on friday. I have all those and the tomatos, and peppers covered for the night though. I just need to get my carrots and onions in. Might do kale too. I still need to put in my pole beans too. I usually wait until at least the may long weekend to plant, but the 2 years in a row we had frost in june.
I wasnt going to plant until later but i never know when ill feel well enough to do things now adays. Gardening does help keep me motivated though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patty Smyth
I had to google monkshood because I had no idea what it was and at first I thought "Oooh pretty purple flowers, I love purple !" But then I read further..:yikes:most poisonous plant known to man ?? http://www.vincelewis.net/monkshood.htmlQuote:
Originally Posted by nmcgrath
i had monkshood once.. it died almost immediately, i guess it wasn't meant to be
i replaced it with false indigo, a very similar-looking plant and it seems to be coming up nicely this year.. it's a mostly non-poisonous alternative if you're interested... i say mostly because the seeds may be toxic especially in children, but the rest of the plant is not :)
this is the monkshood
http://www.pixel51.com/blog/wp-conte.../monkshood.jpg
this is the blue false indigo
http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgi...flickr_cc2.jpg
Finally a few tulips are out
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.n...23704197_n.jpg
Ours too Patty! however, our red flowers are " pointy " ?? not the rounded kind. ( you know I am not the gardener here, only the observer )
nothing much here yet. just a few green heads popping up under the dead leaves. will clean everything this weekend and see whats under it all.
dh wants to plant all his hostas this year. he has around 50? (we've seen ppl selling them by the stem at garage sales, he'd make a fortune).
as well as my easter lily.. is it a perennial. dh says yes.
we picked out quite a few dead annuals from the garden last fall. so we'll see what goes back there. may post a few pics once done.
My tulips are nowhere near blooming yet! All I see so far are leaves :P
MrsSunshine, I love hostas, I'd love to have the space to be able to put 50 in the garden :)
As for the Easter lily, you shouldn't have a problem with it... well, depending on what part of Ontario you're in. I just Googled a gardening forum and someone in Zone 5 says that it comes back every year for her :)
I have some others that are not even close to being out yet. Geez so far behind. Compared last years pics. and it's really amazing.Quote:
Originally Posted by walkonby