Today and for the past couple of days, we’ve had a taste of spring here on the island.  The temperatures have been in the 70’s, the breeze has been southerly, and the sun has been shining (some occasional showers as well).  Our double row of daffodils are coming up and have their buds on them.  The narcissus are coming up, birds are clamoring at the feeders…I know it won’t last, there’s more winter on the way, but a little taste of spring is better than none.

Back in December 2007 we ordered and received six blueberry plants from Finch Blueberry Nursery.  Each plant is a different variety and their names are Brightwell, Croatan, Legacy, Powder Blue, Tifblue, and Climax.  They are three-year old plants and we have planted them where the strawberries that the foxes eat used to be.  We were told they wouldn’t produce this year, that it would be next year before we’d get any blueberries, but I’m hoping that the little guys are so happy here that they’ll pop out a few this year.  And I’m hoping that foxes don’t like blueberries as much as they like strawberries.

Somewhere earlier in this blog I said that I wanted to choose the seeds for the Native American Three Sister’s garden earlier than we did last year.  Because we conceived and executed said garden so late in the planting season, we were limited to the seeds we could find locally.  So here I am, looking earlier, and after researching heirloom seeds and Native American varities online, I have requested catalogs from Seeds of Change and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. 

 We don’t really need any more seeds.  Our refrigerator’s bottom shelf is half-covered with a basket, bags, and a covered container of all different types of seeds, many that we’ve harvested ourselves, including some of the Ruby Queen corn and King of the Garden limas and Kentucky Wonder pole beans from last year’s garden.  But I would like to plant heirlooms, and “real” Native American varieties, and I also want pods to pick that aren’t green and therefore camoflauged in the corn stalks.  Picking the green beans and limas last year was like being on an Easter egg hunt where the eggs are all green and are hidden in tall, green grass.  Give me some color, please.

 So, from the above-mentioned sources, I’m considering pole beans called Gold Marie Vining Bean, and Purple-podded Pole Bean.  They should stand out in the crowd.  And for the Native American choice, there’s Cherokee Trail of Tears Pole Bean.  Green, but native.  Also Lakota Winter Squash, Black Aztec Sweet Corn, and Rouge Vif d’Etampes.  I threw that last one in to see if you were still paying attention.  Actually, it’s a pumpkin that was a staple of the Paris markets, and like my husband says, I’m a sucker for anything Parisian.