Let's Get Growing! ~ by Lexa Fisher

All the green in March isn't just for St. Patrick's Day. As spring approaches in the Pacific Northwest, plants begin to bud. Eager to see how my established and new plants are faring, I look for growth even as the rain steadily falls. 

My new cherry bush was hastily planted due to having a bad cold when it arrived. Now, about six weeks later, it is thriving despite the meager hole I was able to dig for it. 





The apple trees are coming along great. And you can see we had a break in the rain when this photo was taken.









My favorite tree is the dwarf peach. This is its second year in the garden, and it has one pink bud already. Last year started out great, but I've learned that peaches take a lot of care to avoid leaf curl. Fortunately, I found an organic spray that brought new life to the tree.



Not only fruit trees and bushes are sprouting, but the rhubarb is happy the days are longer, too. If the strawberries and rhubarb would just ripen together, we'd have strawberry-rhubarb pie. But rhubarb wins the race to the table.

Another plant that has kept me patiently waiting for its fruits to appear is my kiwi berry plant. Usually when its leaves pop out the leaf cutter bees are at work, but with frost every night for the past week, there have been no bees. Perhaps the week of sun in our forecast will bring them out. 

A couple of the herbs are making an emerald appearance, such as the parsley and lemon balm below.

Other plants I'm keeping an eye on are wintergreen, goji berries, plums, figs, raspberries (shoots and leaves popping out now), huckleberry, elderberry, blueberries, and the first fruits to come out in May--strawberries.

I love being able to harvest my own fruit and herbs (I rarely have success with vegetables). Dried herbs, frozen fruits, and jams are wonderful treats during the cold winter months, and why I eagerly look forward to seeing those first spring buds.