deceptive weather

The other day I ran into a neighbor in the hall, who'd seen me move in.
He asked "Do you still have all those plants on your balcony?"
"Oh, yes!" I replied.
My daughter piped up: "We're going to have a garden."
"I liked to grow plants we can eat," I said. "We just started some peas, swiss chard, beets, lettuce...."
The neighbor looked astonished: "Already?"

Yes, the mild weather has beguiled me into thinking spring is closer than reality. But I'm having doubts now, in spite of the warm afternoons and sheltered spot, perhaps I've been a bit over-eager. Really ought to stick to my pattern of years past: january is for planning, february to start cold-loving plants, march to start the ones that need warmth.... I've really jumped the gun this time!

So I decided I better find tasks to do that don't involve planting, although my thumbs are itching to work. I gave my Boston Fern a thorough grooming today, it had quite a few brown leaves and dried stems (sadly I accidentally broke off a few good fronds).

There's quite a number of little fiddleheads uncurling deep inside the plant's center, so I think it's still healthy enough. A few little fronds are actually growing out from the sides of coir basket, near the bottom, so it might need to be moved up to a larger container. In spring I'll do that. The real spring.