I'm back!!!

I moved to Michigan over a year ago. I see I have had exactly one post since then. Has Facebook taken over as my new favorite? I don't think so! I had to do quite a bit of travelling for my new job and just didn't dedicate enough time to gardening, or to blogging about it. With moving last year I had little time for gardening. The soil here is quite sandy. The patch of yard the previous owner had dedicated to her vegetable garden had evidently been the last resting place for Canadian thistle seeds, as I battled them all year. I set out a few tomato plants, but they were straggly and planted too late, and yielded NOTHING. I planted a few Brussel Sprouts, they did grow, but were covered with a gray, scale-like insect. What a disaster. I observed the landscape planting and flower bed throughout the year. The daisies are invading the yard, the goldenrod does not belong in a flower garden, and the tiger lilies remind me of the ones growing wild by the railroad track back in Ohio. They are way too tall, and hide the beautiful oriental lilies growing behind them. They'll be moved to the back 40 this year. This year I will be making some changes. Spring is in the air, although it is somewhat late in coming. I've started some plants in the garage under grow lights on top of a heating mat, and although the seeds germinated, they are not doing well. I checked on them the other day and the soil was actually frozen. The tomato seedlings get the place of honor on the heating mat, but the lettuce seedlings seem to be in suspended animation - not growing, but not dying either. Can't wait till the weather warms up some more!