The final variety of The Allison’s overwintered purple sprouting broccoli is ready! The gardeners are regularly harvesting. It’s the nicest-looking broccoli of the year!

The daffodils are in full bloom at The Allison! The gardeners had three buckets of bulbs to redistribute last fall and said, “It’s fun to see them blooming in their new locations.”

We are hopeful that the weather this weekend is a last-ditch effort of winter reluctant to let go of our region. Daffodils are remarkably resilient.

Finally, the daffodils are declaring that spring is right around the corner, even if it is a month later than last year. The weather this past week was amazing and long-awaited. The gardeners scurried around, making the most of the dry, sunny days.

The ornamental cherry trees which line the street between the Chef’s garden and the hotel have put out the first of their blooms. It does not seem like it has been warm enough for blooms, but the trees are waking from dormancy because nights are shorter in addition to gradually warming temperatures.

Anna Ashby, our master gardener, left off last week with a snow covered garden. Many folks have been concerned about the survival of the various plants. Rest assured, the plants are just fine. Plants that have lived through the winter thus far, have deep root systems and higher sugar concentrations in their cells to aid

Just when we thought that we might be over the worst of the winter weather we were reminded that indeed we were not in charge of the weather.

Last Tuesday morning we were greeted with the presence of a bit of snow. The temperature was above freezing so it soon melted. Purple Sprouting Broccoli | The Allison gardeners are harvesting the purple sprouting broccoli at least once per week to stay on top of production. Kale | The gardeners will harvest kale this

There’s nothing like a few sunny afternoons to kick early flowers into gear. This is the first crocus seen in the Garden this year. Unlike the saffron crocus, which blooms in October, this one does not have edible filaments; it’s simply the first welcoming harbinger of spring.

special thanks to master gardener – anna ashby RADICCHIO | It’s said that a person’s true colors come to light under challenging circumstances. That also applies to some plants that live through winter temperature extremes. This small radicchio, which has no winter protection, is flourishing. The Allison garden has a good supply. PURPLE BROCCOLI |