Seeds, Catalogs, and Dreams

It’s that time of year again…the seed catalogs are arriving. You’d think my 6 year old and I had found the next best seller by the way we pour over them as soon as they arrive. February feels like the longest month. Some people I know are going to start seeds inside soon. Not us. We get late frosts. Until I either build my dream greenhouse that can withstand strong winds or get a fancy grow light –shelf thing, I’ll have to settle for salivating over the catalogs this month.

Do you garden? I think our learning and expanding process will continue for a long time. I grew up surrounded by home gardens, both at my grandparents’ home and my own childhood backyard. It wasn’t until I was a newlywed that I tested out my own green thumb in the backyard of our townhouse. Along the privacy fence we planted Shasta daisies and tomatoes. We even tried a few summer squash in large containers. Success! Amazing! I’ll never forget how exciting it was to watch tiny seedlings grow to bear fruit just for us!

I’m working on learning to preserve foods we grow. Last year we made and froze pesto from our mounds of basil. This year I’d love to try my hand at canning tomatoes if blight doesn’t get to them first. I grew up in a city but my Appalachian roots had me surrounded by women who canned. So, why didn’t I learn then?

I dream big for my garden this year. My space is a bit limited – it’s really only 2 raised beds and any space I carve out in my large flowerbeds. I love the idea of mixing edibles into formal front yard flower space. I dream that the moles and rabbits and deer will leave my seedlings alone, that the slugs will not attack my fruit, and that we will have veggies growing out of our ears! Oh, maybe, just maybe, this will be the year that our little blueberry bushes bear fruit too!

For now, with my head deep in the coming snow clouds, I’ll sit with a cup or tea or coffee and stare at my seed packets and catalogs…