HerbnArts

   ...Today in Ohio it is snowing, again.  It won't stay, or even stack up, but snow nontheless.  Happily, my potted rosemary plants are blooming away, oblivious to the cold and the flurries outside.  Apparently my studio is a good place for my plants.  The pineapple sage has bloomed all winter long, and now one of my geraniums is about to bloom.  It seems the plants know it is time to be spring even if the Ohio weather doesn't know that yet.  On the first really warm day we get I just know that my daffodils will absolutely explode with blossoms.  My precious few tulips are waiting for that same warm day as well.  I have hints of forget-me-nots peeking through the dried leaves and bits of spent mulch in the garden.  The trustworthy tansy is greening up as well.  As for March, it did come in like a lamb, so what did we expect.  The last wintery death throes of March will spit its last snow on us as is turns into April here in Ohio.  Okay, bring it!  Take your best shot, and fin

   Sunlight was creeping into my bedroom window and the room was beginning to glow.  As I began my waking up routine of preparing a large mug of tea the temperature was slowly rising here in Ohio.  Upon opening the back door I sniffed the air outside.  It was already nearly 50 degrees.  That realization motivated me to turn off the furnace and throw open the house windows.  Ah, fresh air at last!  I began to putter around the house, newly inspired to get on with my usual mundane tasks, but with new vigor.  I was even entertaining the thought of washing window!  Wait a minute...let's not get carried away here, I thought.  But I did begin to shuffle my clay pots around in anticipation of filling them with fresh soil and planting a few seeds.  Now for the ritual of shuffling and examining all my seed packets.  What to plant, what to plant.  Basil, lots of basil, I thought.  And some fennel, and chamomile...must get some holy basil seeds.  In the next few days, if it stays warm enough,

...It is the proverbial "Ides of March", and here in Ohio it is a gray, lightly rainy day.  Ever so slowly we are creeping toward spring with all it's greening up and budding of new things in the yard.  It has been a rough winter here.  There is much to scrape off in the yard and a lot of cleaning up in my gardens in preparation for those soon to come warm spring days.  I am about to plant my little pots of seeds to have herbs ready for planting when the warmer nights are here.  So far it is way too cold at night for anything green and tender to survive.  We need consistent night temperatures of no lower than 45 to 48 degrees before we can transfer our indoor planting treasures to the outside conditions.  I am amazed at how much my pineapple sage plant has been blooming all winter long as it stretched toward the sunlight in my home studio.  That boost of red blossoming as well as its delicate pineapple fragrance was greatly appreciated during my winter hybernation.  And n