Cardinals Nesting

A pair of cardinals have recently made a nest at my sisters new house. The nest is easily visible outside a dining room window where a small tree grows. Here's a few pictures of the female cardinal nesting in her new home..

Photobucket

Photobucket

Let the Spring begin!

In about two more weeks, spring officially begins. And for a majority of February this year, we've had a nice warm trend of weather. I've pruned all the Hibiscus down and wacked the Crape Myrtles back. New growth can be seen on all plants already, so there's little to no casualties from the winter freezes this year.

On February 18th, I started some annual flower seeds in the Burpee Ultimate Growing tray. I sowed 12 cells of Sweet Alyssum "Snow Crystals", 12 cells of Zinnia "Candy Cane Mix", 10 cells of Milkweed, 12 cells of Petunia and 18 cells of Impatiens.
So two weeks later, most have sprouted by now. The Petunia seed must be old based on poor germination rates. The Impatiens has just started to germinate. And the Zinnia and Milkweed have been transplanted into larger 3.5" pots for maturing.

I have 11 pots of Zinnia "Candy Cane Mix" ; 10 pots of Milkweed ; and 12 cells of Alyssum to be transplanted into pots next.