While recently at the garden store that's soon to be closing down, I decided to purchase two medium-sized ceramic pots that were on sale at a 30% discount. I transplanted a combination of an autumn fern and scented geranium into one, and moved herbs into the other pot: lemon thyme, lemon balm, and tarragon. This is the sort of garden task I should do more often; many perennial plants grew well this spring and summer, and would benefit from being moved into larger containers so they can continue to thrive.

I decided not to bring home any plants during that shopping trip, but am considering a few new bulbs for spring blooms. I've never grown irises, and would like to try tulips again.

Winter birds have started to return to my yard, such as the golden-crowned and white-crowned sparrows, and Townsend's warblers. Others have been here year-round, including juncos, chickadees, titmice, scrub jays, brown towhees and sometimes the rarer spotted towhee. Steve fills a birdfeeder with seeds about once a week; it's right outside our living room window. I enjoy watching the birds while drinking coffee on Saturday mornings, as I wake up slowly and consider what the day's gardening plans could be.

Hummingbirds have also been frequent visitors. The pineapple sage attracts them recently, now that it has several clusters of bright red blooms. The entire plant is also wonderfully fragrant.

It occurred to me that I hadn't evaluated soil fertility or pH levels in quite a while, so I've been using the testing meter again. I've also refreshed my knowledge on specific needs of my plants. I'm re-learning which varieties prefer higher levels of nitrogen, for example, so I'm enriching the soil, primarily with fertilizer formulas and sometimes with our household's nutrient-rich compost. For plants that grow best in a more acidic environment (my hydrangea, camellias, berries, calla lilies, and pine trees), I'd tried coffee grounds in the past, but the testing meter indicates ours are fairly neutral. My gardening books recommend sulphur and vinegar, so perhaps I'll experiment with those in the near future.