Last frost date

Did you know that my area's last-frost date is March 31? Isn't that amazing? What it means, essentially, is that I'm totally behind in sowing seeds. The sweet peas I sowed in February are four inches tall and doing beautifully, and the carnations are tall (but too spindly).

I just sowed zinnias today, and there were so many seeds. Someone remind me never to buy a 'Jumbo' pack of seeds again. I sowed 300 seeds, then invited the neighbour kids to sow a fibre-pack of 8 seeds each (40 more seeds) and still have another 20 or more seeds left.

I haven't blogged for two weeks because I felt like I had nothing to report. But I did get a few good scores at IKEA as-is, and at the Burnaby Hospice Society Thrift Store, including two IKEA vases (those from the thrift store) and waterproof pants to garden in (Lower Mainland gardeners don't have the option of just waiting until the rain stops if they want to get anything done in the spring).

Then there's our beautiful entry way. Our neighbour is a tile guy (sorry for the technical terminology), and found us a super deal on slate tiles last fall. Then this last week he installed them for us in our entry way (to cover the decaying and tacky parquet floor) and outside the front door (to cover the grey concrete slab). They're gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.

And if you're thinking, "We need a picture," you're just going to have to drop over and take a pic so I can post it. A digital camera is not in my immediate future. Hmmm, unless I use points....

So if you have a spare half-day, feel free to drop by to see the new tiles and plant some seeds. The materials are around back.