Springtime arrived on Saturday, February 12!  

My personal barometer for measuring the arrival of spring is based on when leaves start appearing on my pear trees. Crepe myrtles always show new leaves first, sometimes as early as late January. But since I wack them back down during the yearly pruning it doesn't count. It's been nice and warm, with highs in the low 80's. We've also finally received some much-needed rain. Not nearly enough, but we'll take it.

With the arrival of spring comes the usual pruning. It's time for the crepe myrtles to get a trim, but I think I'll wait a few weeks before cleaning up my hibiscus' that were damaged by the frost last month.

	Here it is... the first sign of spring! I've had two of these Bradford pear trees for close to five years now, and they've never bloomed. Maybe this year?
	My philodendrons that were fried in last month's freeze are coming back nicely.
	My favorite gardening activity of the year - pruning the crepe myrtles! Here's the "before" picture.
	Here's the "after" picture. It's fun pruning crepe myrtles because you can almost make them look like living avant-garde pieces of living artwork. Plus, it freaks out northerners who think you're murdering your trees!
	My potato crop was pathetic. One big red potato and three measly little ones. The carrots and onions are looking pretty good though.

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