Sept. 24: Planted spinach and pansies

The lady at the nursery said spinach seeds were their top seller, which I can well imagine (recent health scare from E. coli in bagged grocery store spinach). Two weeks in, we've got about a dozen sprouts.

Start the pansy clock: They were blooming when I bought them and haven't stopped since. Last year, they bloomed right through until May. If they manage the same this year, that'll be six solid months of blooms. Which is enough to put them in the ground and leave 'em there, if you ask me. (Not saying that they'd survive the summer, just that they'd be worth replanting each year for that kind of performance. Plus I love their little faces.)