Small Town News

Birds are coming back, April showers should soon yield to May flowers

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"April Showers bring May Flowers." Anonymous.

Sometimes I do wonder how those May flower seeds are surviving all the rain, snow, snow pellets and hail that has been landing on top of them. There are some itty, bitty, tiny wee white flowers and baby blue flowers that have shown up already. I have no idea what they are but they are welcome! Even the dandelions are welcome right now along with the daffodils, tulips and hyacinths that are in bloom. The bees love the dandelions for the pollen they need in their hives.

Maybe a birder reading this can tell me what this bird is. I haven't found them listed in our bird book. The birds look like they are in the finch family: grey/light grey body feathers and wing feathers, dar£ grey to almost black head with three white stripes--large one in the middle with a smaller stripe on each side of the head. They are ground feeders and never seem go to the feeder with the other finches. They are happy to be right among the finches on the ground--no fighting with the other birds, they all get along including the stray sparrow couple.

For those of you who received or purchased the primrose plants earlier this month, these plants can be planted into the flower bed and they will come up early next year and give you an early vivid and bright color in the spring. Once you are tired of them in the house or the flowers are all spent, then start hardening them off to plant. Hopefully the freezing temperatures are over with but to be on the safe side, bring them in to a cool place at night.

I hope in about a week the primrose can go into the flowerbeds. They may wilt down or kind of die down early in the spring but don't give them last rites. They are tough little plants and will most likely survive. Ours survived this winter past, the dogs running over them after the snow and ice left packing down the soil in their trail and they are now a bright spot in the flower bed right now along with the pansies that were transplanted a week ago.

Since we are still having a very upset Mother Nature at this time, planting seeds can be a bit tricky in the garden. You can plant the cool/ cold weather vegetable seeds if you have an inclination to get out and get your early garden fix. You can plant seeds of the leaf lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard now. If you want to plant something near the house in the flower beds, onion bulbs will be a good thing. You can pull them up later for green onions and then plant more flowers in the bare places.

Have a great early spring planting and enjoy each sun shiny day we have. Just think, we may be saying, "I sure wish we have some rain" in a couple months or so.

Gardeners of Cheney will be having many different types of plants to sell at the Spring Plant Sale on May 21 at the Mitchell's Harvest Foods parking lot starting at 8:30 a.m.

Questions and comments should be directed to LaVerle at (509) 455-7568 or laverle905@gmail.com.



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© 2011 Cheney Free Press Cheney, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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