Beyond Hybernation...
...A few flakes here, a few flakes there. So goes January here in Ohio. It has been a wet month in the Buckeye state. Normally we would be up to our tail feathers in snow, but that is not the case for the beginning of 2017. Most of us are wishing we had received inflatable rafts for Christmas. Though we have had some sunny days, for the most part it has been gray and dreary. There was one bit of encouragement for me when I caught sight of the spring seed displays beginning to appear in stores. It was a light at the end of a very gray tunnel. I was inspired enough to begin planning my herb gardens for this spring.
Last year's plan for raised gardens of containers full of glorious herbs never materialized. As last summer showed itself to be a drought year, I abandoned the idea of enlarging my Petit Jardin. It took a lot of water just to maintain the plants I did manage to cultivate even though many of them were considered drought tolerant varieties. But this is a new year. I still have a plan for raised garden features that will allow me to artistically arrange an expanded container garden. For now, I am searching out whatever I can find to repurpose for containers toward this project. Starting seeds had never been my strong point over the many years of my gardening experience, but I will try my hand at it again. Strangely, last year all my precious seeds sprouted with most of them maturing into full plants. And of course there will be sunflowers! My biggest battle will be to keep Chuck the groundhogs from eating my tender shoots before they manage to become actual stocks of sunflowers. Another decision for Garden 2017 will be the placement of more flowers. The need and butterflies need all the help they can get, so I hope to plant with them in mind.
It is still the time of hibernation and I find myself not wanting to move from my comfortable easy chair. Stacks of gardening books are cluttered all around the chair. I keep thinking I should straighten up the clutter, but then I just roll over and take another cat nap. Spring cleaning is months away at this point, but I am having a bit of a struggle getting out of the chair and climbing over the growing mountain of books. Inspiration to move only yields shoving aside just enough books to make a small pathway from the the overstuffed chair. It has occurred to me that I might be the reason the chair is overstuffed. Nevertheless, I still have garden plans and am newly inspired to search out the things I will need for that mission. Last summer a friend expressed her amazement at how creatively I managed to use the tiny space available to me for gardening. She has a whole yard she could be planting, but her garden area was barren. I decided to offer to set up her garden area so that she would have a minimum of work for maintenance. She would have the joy of herbs and flowers with only a bit of watering to keep them thriving. Since several other people have asked me how to begin to set up herb gardens, I decided to design a packet of information that shows them how to accomplish making their own little herb garden. The thing about herbs is that they are easy. Herbs are much like weeds as they grow in spite of your lack of a green thumb. Potted herbs are the best way to start. Container gardening helps solve a lot of gardening challenges to plants. If it is too sunny or lacks Sun, you can simply move the container to a better location. Weeding is almost nonexistent. As plants thrive and explains, you can have the joy of getting your hands dirty by re-pitting to a larger container. If you lack space, finding a way to go vertical with your pots helps to shrink the footprint of your garden without eliminating plants.
So many ideas, and I haven't left my easy chair yet. Today I will begin the adventure for discovering containers for this year's garden, and buying new seeds for the beginning of the spring garden. Yes, that's what I will do...right after my nap...
Last year's plan for raised gardens of containers full of glorious herbs never materialized. As last summer showed itself to be a drought year, I abandoned the idea of enlarging my Petit Jardin. It took a lot of water just to maintain the plants I did manage to cultivate even though many of them were considered drought tolerant varieties. But this is a new year. I still have a plan for raised garden features that will allow me to artistically arrange an expanded container garden. For now, I am searching out whatever I can find to repurpose for containers toward this project. Starting seeds had never been my strong point over the many years of my gardening experience, but I will try my hand at it again. Strangely, last year all my precious seeds sprouted with most of them maturing into full plants. And of course there will be sunflowers! My biggest battle will be to keep Chuck the groundhogs from eating my tender shoots before they manage to become actual stocks of sunflowers. Another decision for Garden 2017 will be the placement of more flowers. The need and butterflies need all the help they can get, so I hope to plant with them in mind.
It is still the time of hibernation and I find myself not wanting to move from my comfortable easy chair. Stacks of gardening books are cluttered all around the chair. I keep thinking I should straighten up the clutter, but then I just roll over and take another cat nap. Spring cleaning is months away at this point, but I am having a bit of a struggle getting out of the chair and climbing over the growing mountain of books. Inspiration to move only yields shoving aside just enough books to make a small pathway from the the overstuffed chair. It has occurred to me that I might be the reason the chair is overstuffed. Nevertheless, I still have garden plans and am newly inspired to search out the things I will need for that mission. Last summer a friend expressed her amazement at how creatively I managed to use the tiny space available to me for gardening. She has a whole yard she could be planting, but her garden area was barren. I decided to offer to set up her garden area so that she would have a minimum of work for maintenance. She would have the joy of herbs and flowers with only a bit of watering to keep them thriving. Since several other people have asked me how to begin to set up herb gardens, I decided to design a packet of information that shows them how to accomplish making their own little herb garden. The thing about herbs is that they are easy. Herbs are much like weeds as they grow in spite of your lack of a green thumb. Potted herbs are the best way to start. Container gardening helps solve a lot of gardening challenges to plants. If it is too sunny or lacks Sun, you can simply move the container to a better location. Weeding is almost nonexistent. As plants thrive and explains, you can have the joy of getting your hands dirty by re-pitting to a larger container. If you lack space, finding a way to go vertical with your pots helps to shrink the footprint of your garden without eliminating plants.
So many ideas, and I haven't left my easy chair yet. Today I will begin the adventure for discovering containers for this year's garden, and buying new seeds for the beginning of the spring garden. Yes, that's what I will do...right after my nap...
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