I was hoping to go rake the thatch out of the grass today. I was thinking about putting some of my outside plants, you know, actually outside on the deck. I was going to cut some pussy willow branches off one of my trees for an inside flower arrangement over Easter. But no. In the hours of darkness a shroud of white did fall upon the land. (AKA snow on all horizontal surfaces. About three inches of it.)

This is April in Alberta, a landlocked Province that merges into the Rocky Mountains to the west. We are at a high elevation, about 300ft above sea level, so yes, this is not unusual. What it is is flocking annoying when a person is antsy to get on their yard and has actually seen the brown stuff that will become grass with a bit of sunlight and encouragement. 

Yes, I know full well that I will not be putting out any bedding plants until the last week in May. There are too many night frosts to risk anything before then. However, I was hoping to put out my sprouted roses in containers. House temperatures and heating are very dehydrating for them and I want them to have a good start in my new, (when I can get a fork in the ground, and don’t need a jack hammer), rose garden. 

What I shall do, aside from a big spring clean of the house, is plant my begonias in containers. They should be sprouted nicely by the time I am able to plant them outside. I could also sew some seeds in containers on windowsills. Yes, that sounds like a plan. I can pretend it is spring.