How I February
Cross country skiing at Huron Meadows
I have been in surprisingly good spirits this February. Maybe it is because the promise of spring is sweeter than ever this year (plus there has been a lot of good snow for cross country skiing in the meantime:). My seed orders have been arriving despite the shortages and challenges with the mail--and with them, the promise of food and flowers, and with any luck, by the summer, friends to enjoy them with over a chilled glass of wine in the late afternoon shade, or a hot cup of coffee on the morning porch.
But before all of that...it is also suddenly time to make the seed starting schedule and get the basement prepared for the 2000+ seedlings that will make up this year’s garden. After 10 years of various temporary set-ups, this year we are building permanent shelves, and expanding the space to hold even more trays.Hopefully this will make those last crazy weeks when the plants are getting too big and we are waiting for the moment when we can finally start moving things outside, a little less chaotic. I’ll share photos of the setup soon!
This week I thought I’d share what I think about when I am putting my garden plan together (in no particular order):
Art: I always think about what I’d like to paint. Sometimes I have a particular collection in mind, and other times I am drawn to certain colors. This year I am focusing on the garden as a whole. This will be my third season in this space, so I’m becoming more clear on how I want the garden design to evolve (it definitely includes a greenhouse at some point:).
Edible flowers and herbs from last year’s garden
Food: I have my favorites, for sure (Sungold tomatoes, Purple Haze carrots, Gourmet lettuce blend…) but I also love to try new things, and be sure to have things to harvest from spring through fall--greens and radishes always get things started. I am also very excited that I planted garlic last fall, and I ordered some new melon varieties and strawberry spinach to experiment with this year.
Flowers: Along with painting, I plan for a lot of edible flowers. There is really nothing better than a salad bowl filled with nasturtiums and violas, or tomato toast topped with garlic chive flowers. I also plant a lot of cut and come again flowers so that I will have vases of flowers to fill the house all season. And this year I hope to dry more so that I can have them around all of next winter.
Herbs: Ahhhh, herbs. Maybe one of the best things to grow, as they can be so hardy (even if other things fail, the herbs usually make it). I grow things for culinary use, medicinal, and for teas. I started a new huge bed last year that I am calling Herb Mountain. And because we had to remove a tree that was dying over the winter, Herb Mountain will get even bigger this year.