Flower Lover

I walked around the garden today. I heard a friend in Illinois has crocus blooming, and was dying to fnd out if anything in my zone 4 garden was growing yet. We moved here last summer, from our zone 4/5 Wisconsin garden, and were expecting this brutally harsh Minnesota winter- but Mother Nature decided to ease us into it. We've had hardly any really cold days, and record numbers of days above 40. Last snow more than 2 inches was December 3rd! So, as of right now my roses have no die back whatsoever, and some of annuals looks somewhat alive. Strange indeed. But, I'm no novice, and I know a lot of the most trying times for a gardener come in the late winter and spring, when the freeze thaw cycle wrecks havoc, and late deep freezes kill off tender new growth. Nevertheless, here we are approaching the end of February, and do you know what I found? The tippy tops of crocus leaves, and leaves sprouting on my dwarf iris. Wow!

Meanwhile, I have started making handmade flower pin and brooches in the winter months to supplement my need to grow flowers.

I have been a crafter as long as I've been a gardener. Starting midsummer I knit well into fall, and sell my hats, scarves, blankets, and headbands on Etsy, and now I've created some spring scarves and fabric flowers, too. Enjoy!

Check it out in my Etsy Shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/jamiesierraknits

Or read more about it here, on my family and crafting blog:
http://ramblingsinchocolate.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-kind-of-flower-obsession.html