A Snowy Start to Spring

You wouldn't know it from the snow, but the first day of Spring arrived in the Longfellow Garden -- with not a bud in sight. The late March snowstorm brought another foot of the powdery white stuff to Southern Maine, making this winter one of the top 40 snowiest in recorded history.

With snow caking tree limbs and blanketing the ground, it's hard to believe that anything is going to be growing on these grounds anytime soon. But seed orders are in -- carrots, sunflowers, scarlet runner beans, corn and potatoes -- and before you know it, that snow will be melted, and we'll be hard at work cultivating the garden.

To help make sure the soil is healthy, hearty and full of nutrients for our vegetables and flowers, Mr. Johnson's 5th grade class will be testing the dirt in the raised beds to make sure they're ripe for growing.

Here's hoping the soil passes with flying colors.