January

January is usually the coldest month of the year. Since I moved into the house in May 2013, there have been freezes on January 24, 2014, January 7, 2017, and January 8, 2017.

The Freeze of January 2014
The Freeze of January 2017

Non-Garden Plants

Early Annual Growth

Carolina geranium (Geranium carolinianum)

Budding Leaves

Flowering

False Garlic (Nothoscordum bivalve)
American black nightshade (Solanum americanum)
Violet Woodsorrel (Oxalis violacea)

Fruiting

Yellow Woodsorrel (Oxalis stricta)

Dropping Leaves

Water Oak (Quercus nigra) (removed in February 2016)

Garden Plants

Flowering

Broccoli 
bok choi
coriander
snow peas
Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
Domesticated Capsicum (Capsicum annuum)

Emerging

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
scallion (from compost)
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) (from compost)
Cucumber (Cucumis sativa) (from compost)

 Leafing

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
Hardy Sweet Marjoram - "Sicilian Oregano" (Origanum x majoricum)

Fungi

false turkey tail (Stereum hirsutum)
Psathyrella mushroom

Insects

Larvae - Nymphs - Niads

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
aphids

Pupae

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

Adults

Notes

1/1/2015 - One small cluster of false garlic was blooming.
1/1/2015 - One flower appeared on the nightshade and some flower buds were about to open.
1/1/2015 - A few violet wood sorrel flowers appeared in the herb garden and the front yard.
1/1/2015 - I cut off the broccoli because it was starting to flower. 
1/1/2015 - All the bok choi grown from seed has bolted with attractive yellow flowers. I got a pic of a honey bee on the flowers.
1/1/2017 - Arugula covers a large area where it was planted.
1/1/2017 - Many goldenrain tree seeds are in the back yard.
1/1/2017 - Coriander was flowering.
1/1/2017 - The fungus false turkey tail (Stereum hirsutum) was growing on a raised bed board.
1/1/2017 - Many lettuce seedlings were appearing, while endive and other lettuces were growing larger, in the raised beds.
1/1/2017 - The brassicas' leaves were all in a harvestable state, but the flower heads had not appeared yet on the broccoli and cauliflower.
1/1/2017 - The snow peas planted in November were flowering.
1/1/2017 - The fava bean plants had grown to about six inches tall.
1/1/2017 - Monarch butterfly larvae were eating milkweed leaves and stems.
1/1/2017 - Ruellia was rising near the backyard gate.
1/1/2017 - a Psathyrella mushroom was in the yard.
1/1/2017 - Radish and turnip plants were forming good roots.
1/1/2017 - Some of the basil was flowering.
1/1/2017 - Pepper (chile) plants had some flowers.
1/2/2017 - A monarch chrysalis was on an arugula stem.
1/2/2017 - Some aphids were on the seed pods of a milkweed.
1/3/2017 - Scallion, cucumber, and tomato seedlings appeared from composted veggie scraps from a supermarket.
1/3/2017 - The lantana was flowering.
1/3/2017 - Oriental false hawksbeard (Youngia japonica) was flowering.
1/3/2017 - Violet Woodsorrel (Oxalis violacea) was visible all around the back yard and parts of the front yard.
1/3/2017 - Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and Hardy Sweet Marjoram had grown back many leaves after having lost them in the late fall.
1/3/2017 - Some of the Yellow Woodsorrel (Oxalis stricta) was flowering, and some had already produced seed capsules.
1/3/2017 - Erect Dayflower (Commelina erecta) was spreading.
1/5/2017 - Milkweed was flowering.
1/12/2104 - A leaf bud appeared from the tip of one of the American beautyberry’s bare branches.
1/12/2104 - A few leaves grew on the Texas lantana.
1/12/2104 - False garlic leaves were reaching their full size, but no flowers yet.
1/12/2104 - Many herbs were starting to grow more robustly.
1/12/2104 - Turk’s cap had one flower.
1/15/2016 - Of all the seeds I sowed on October 25, 2015, these are the ones that grew enough to become food in the S bed: Bok Choi (seeds from last year’s plants), Bok Choi White Stem, Collards Georgia Southern, Fennel Florence Finocchio, Kale Dwarf Blue Curled, Kale Red Winter, Kohlrabi Purple & White Vienna Blend, Mustard Red Giant, Mustard Southern Giant Curled, Radish Crimson Giant, Radish Watermelon Mantanghong
1/15/2016 - The bok choi, collards, and mustard dominated the bed, and there were three good fennel plants. The I-bed had over 30 good, big radishes.
1/18/2015 - Bees visited the bok choi flowers. I saw a leaf-footed bug walking on the ground.
1/18/2015 - The first poblano seedlings emerged in their cups.

1/18/2015 - Found that the Black Krim and Gardener’s Delight tomatoes had emerged in their cups much sooner than I had expected.
1/19/2014 - The grass was short, and it had a lot of oak leaves on it.
1/19/2014 - Carolina geranium was growing in a white ceramic pot on the back patio and in the square pot by the western corner of the back patio.
1/26/2014 - The greens in the C bed were 1-2 feet tall.
1/31/2015 - Horseweed is about a foot tall by the back walkway.