The Garden

I am not an expert gardener, but I love to be in the garden. Every spring There are a series of phases I go through about gardening. In about January or February when those cheap gardening catalogs come in the mail, I gaze hopefully at them, the bright flowers, the full grown blooming trees...then remember that anything I ever ordered from those catalogs, except for my rugosa roses, never survived.

Then when things begin to thaw out in April (if we are lucky) I start obsessing about kelp and beach peat to improve the soil. The obsessing happened this year, but I never actually got any kelp. I just drive around in my car with those yellow rubber gloves and a few garbage bags, thinking I will get some "next time," every time I drive by Mill Bay beach.

The next phase is the indoor planting phase, which for me, this year, consisted of some cilantro in a six inch pot. Still alive by the way. And I got Emmy to eat a few leaves. Huzzah!

Following that is the biggest phase, which is obsessing about getting everything into the ground. It usually begins with some premature plant purchases, which must be babied for a number of weeks because it is still too cold or they are not hardened off, but I put a lot of thought about where they will go and when. I also soak my nasturtium and sugar snap peas to wake them up before I sow them outside.

This year, since I had to start some new beds due to our new dog's chosen walkway (down the length of the bed along the house), so there was planning with Jeremy and getting new dirt, etc. I moved the plants that had survived and set about stocking the new beds mostly with perennials. I also started some potatoes and carrots and a whole bed of calendula since I am hoping to make some tinctures or salves or soaps with the petals this fall. I just cannot rest until everything is planted.

As of now I have just a few measly potato starts to get in the ground, but today I also began my last planting phase, which is the hanging baskets. I have my starts, but I think I will wait until the weekend to put them all in baskets. I am a bit worn out from all the weeding I did today reviving an overgrown bed after I realized I had too many plants for the beds I had going.

The garden will be beautiful this year.