Spring seems to be taking its time coming this year. A late-season ice storm meant that less than a week ago, the farm was still covered in snow. Conditions in Illinois are the same. Sarah in Illinois uses a calendar to track her annual progress in the garden, and she knows exactly how delayed the season is this year compared to last. She’s sharing her calendar–and lack of progress–today.
For someone who loves spending time out in the garden, this spring has been pretty frustrating.
On April 9 we woke up to this:
I keep a gardening calendar. Every year I write notes on it when I plant certain things, when I till the garden, when I see my first hummingbird, etc. Then each year when I get a new calendar I transfer all of my notes to the new calendar. Here is an example for April:
It is really handy to use as reference for anything outdoor related. However, this year it is really frustrating because I can constantly see how behind I am. Look closely:
Two years ago I tilled the garden on April 16 and last year I tilled it for the SECOND time on April 15. This year weather has prevented us from stepping one foot in the garden.
Now obviously I can’t do a thing about the weather, so I try not to let it upset me very much. Plus there are sure signs that the weather will warm up.
Remember the picture I posted above? Here is that very same tree 11 days later:
Has spring arrived where you live? Do you keep a gardening calendar or something similar? Have you been able to start working in your garden?
Oh Sarah, I feel your pain. We had sunshine over the weekend, and things not only melted, they finally started to dry out. I’m not sure that spring is officially here, but it seems like it might come someday… probably… hopefully.
Home on 129 Acres 
I keep a garden journal to record first blooms, plantings, etc. Here in central Indiana we were running three weeks behind, but now with a bit of warmer weather things are picking up and blooms & signals are only about two weeks behind. It can drive a gardener crazy!
It is very frustrating, I agree! I clicked on your name that sent me to your blog. You have such a lovely space over there, I will be reading about your gardening as well.
I don’t keep a calendar, though it’s a great idea. But yes, we’ve had a late, cold spring here on Vancouver Island as well. One way you can see it here is by what’s in bloom simultaneously. On a usual year, there are waves of different types of tree blossoms, one following the other. But this year there’s a wild profusion of many kinds at once because they were delayed starting. It’s just getting warm enough that we can start to weed the garden, and this weekend we’re hoping to get the veggie garden rototilled.
Your tree and wide-open view are so pretty!
Thanks Jan! I can see the same thing here, all of a sudden everything is blooming!