I am not referring to the cold, white stuff – even though we have had yo-yo weather which sported a high of 43 degrees just a few days ago. It is chilly and rainy today as well. Tomorrow it could be in the 80’s. Who knows?

There is a less abstract question that I would like to figure out. I planted two snowball plants on the south-facing side of the mound two years ago and they thrived and spread. Last year I went out and bought more and planted them here and there and, by gosh, I not seeing them this year, neither here or there?

They is the distinct possibility that I was – and it would have to be on an impulse – weeding and accidentally pulled their tender shoots. You see, I have what I call a wilderness area and then one with some sense of order, covered in glassy ground cover and home to perennials I keep forgetting about. One of them has a delightful bloom, but it only comes at late summer and until then, the green stalk looks as if it belongs in science fiction movie about alien cabbages that are planing to eat me.

There are still more hostas to plant and a fern, not to mention more mulch to spread around. I wish I had a master gardener for a neighbor who desperately wanted more space to do her thing – my backyard is your backyard.