That was last week. I've been receiving various seed and plant catalogs all winter, but it wasn't until I sat down with the Jung catalog two days ago that I began to feel the desire to plant things. Lots of things. Fortunately, there will be a few obstacles to my outlandish dreams besides the already mentioned baby: hardines zone, money and space. If I had unlimited funds and many, many acres in zone 5 or 6 then I would make a big walled garden with a gate, path and a wisteria tree, a really big orchard, a rose garden, and a weeping willow tree or two out in a meadow. I haven't quite figured out where in my little acre I'm going to put the forsythia hedge or pussy willow bush, the aronia berry bushes, the six apple and pear trees or the plum trees. I'm only slightly bitter about not being able to grow certain fruits like apricots, plumcots, sweet cherries, pawpaw (not to mention lemon, clementine and grapefruit), nuts like pecan, walnut, and almond, and old fashioned English roses. But I'll get over it, I'm sure. I will have to plant certain things, though. Peas, first of all. We must have garden-fresh peas to munch on while playing outside. Lettuce, Diva cucumbers, and tomatoes are pretty much essential. Sonja wants to grow onions, garlic and carrots besides lettuce and peas. Laurel wants cabbage, and I want corn and pumpkins as well. Then there's the herb garden: parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, cilantro, basil, lemon balm, mint, and chives. I'd like to try growing stevia and see what it's like.
And that's just the vegetable garden- I need more peonies, shrub roses, hydrangeas, berries, coral bells, lilacs, and other beautiful things. There are perennials I've never tried and I'm still hoping for another great sunflower patch like I had in 2005. It's all a great game, a dance, made more bitter and sweet by the restrictions imposed by the brevity of the growing season, hungry wildlife, the whims of Mother Nature and my own physical limitations... but I think I'm ready to get in the game again.
7 comments:
Have you considered Pawpaws? I am so jealous. I wish I had a little land to plant in.
I really need to read better. I'm happy to see you did consider growing Pawpaws.
They are always so tempting in the catalog, and then your write-up last fall really made me wish I was in the right zone and had lots of room to plant two or three.
"A little land" was all I thought I needed... I've become greedy, I guess.
Congrats on the baby! that is wonderful news. We are so happy for you guys.
much love--
Michelle
I wasn't ready to think about the garden either until this week, and now I'm drooling over catalogs too, especially the Cook's Garden with all their gorgeous lettuces and heirloom tomatoes and specialty greens (mache and raab, and something called zen). This year in honor of the Native American history class I'm taking I will plant one of our beds with the "Three Sisters" of corn, beans and squash. Probably a sweet corn, or maybe an ornamental Indian dent, and a pole bean to trail up the cornstalks like Kentucky Wonder, and probably Delicata squash, my favorite. I am a big fan of nasturtiums, they are so gorgeous and the petals are edible in salad. I have great luck with sunflowers, I wish I could send some your way. The horse manure and a slightly longer season both make a difference probably.
Go for it, Maren- I am glad God sends us spring each year. You actually will have more time to do some of those things later.
i'm very jealous of your gardening plans. i was surprised at how well my garden worked out last year, inspite of being planted late due to the arrival of #2 at the end of april.
this year i don't know what to do, since we're moving SOMETIME, and i don't think i'll get to harvest what i plant, unless i just tell the renters to keep out of my garden!
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