I'm calling it spring now.

Even though it snowed 2 days ago, I'm calling this spring because I got some plants in the mail today! I've never mail ordered plants before, but I gave it a go this year. I got a box of lily bulbs and a bag of bare root trees. I was totally impressed with the lily bulbs- they are huge compared to the ones I've bought at the store before. I'm hoping the flowers they will yield are huge and fragrant. I wasn't as impressed with the trees. They look like sticks with roots on the end. I know they'll grow soon and be slightly more alive looking, but I guess I'm used to buying them in pots when they already look alive.

In related news, I got my herb garden up and running. It's a little corner planting bed right outside my kitchen door. I had it last year, and the perenial herbs that made it through the winter are Greek Oregeno, thyme, mint, pineapple mint, chamomile, chives, and sage. Somehow I killed the rosemary. I thought that was a hard one to kill. I could blame it on the heavy snow we had, but it's more likely that I'm good at killing plants.

So I got a replacement rosemary, some basils, dill, parsley, and cilantro seeds. I also added an Italian Oregano. The mints were taking over the whole thing so I moved them up to the big planting bed to act as a groundcover. Last year I picked enough mint to make tea all winter. And my chamomile did so well that I divided it and planted it in various spots. Maybe it will become a groundcover too. It makes the whole place smell nice once the flowers start coming up. If the existing oregano gets any bigger, that will get divided soon as well.

I'm glad I'm seeing buds and growth. I can't wait for a few months from now when it's warm enough for my kids and I to be outside among the plants all day.