Seeing GREEN!

Category: gardening | Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 5:11 pm

Old Man Winter's a huffin' and a puffin' to his hearts content, blowing powdery snow about to move the drifts from one location to another again. Raised beds/containers sadly sit, decorated by white mushroom-like caps instead of the colorful displays of blooming flowers they held just a few short months ago, greenhouse sits idle like a forlorn igloo with snow swirling constantly around it.
BUT, that's outside! Inside, there are two orchids, African violets, a yellow & pink Christmas cactus, geraniums, other plants blooming/growing that make the spirits soar to see their welcomed beauty..AND it's almost time to begin starting seeds!
As of November, all seeds for the 2008 season were purchased, staggered planting schedules drawn up, trays and cells stacked in eager anticipation of being put to use once more. Pansies..which are now little "greenies"..were started for May blooming, will soon be joined by gerberas, blue mealy sage and a number of other varieties of plants.
Yesterday was planning what will go where and in what, looked at those sad outside containers and actually saw GREEN! Yep! Snapdragons will go there; petunias in that; tomatoes, eggplant, squashes and peppers in those Earthboxs; chards and cukes over there in a new spot this year. What was the dreariest of landscapes suddenly turned into a prolific Garden of Eden in this gardener's mind's eye. Is time to get to WORK and make it happen!
I grow almost everything from seed, experiment with new plants each year to see what does best here and what doesn't, and..believe ME!..have had my share of "flops" along the way as the landfill can readily testify to.
Gardening is constantly living and learning by trial and error: sometimes..I think..the errors outweigh the good, but I'm a glutton for punishment when it comes to gardening, simply "have to try" or I'll never know! I have found that researching plants needs/requirments is an invaluable asset as seed packets don't tell you HALF the story when it comes to starting practices, culture, etc. in most cases, especially with "odd balls" like lemon eucalyptus, verbenas, and gerberas to name a few. Packets usually have generalized instructions..plant and ye shall grow..but I've found that it doesn't hurt to research if trying something new, will save a lot of gray hairs, ulcers and nervous breakdowns in the long run!
YEP! Seein' GREEN even tho' the seed packets, bags of soils are still unopened, guess the adage to "plant a seed and WAIT is to believe" is true after all.

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devonpete wrote on Mon Dec 17, 2007 7:03 pm:

Never much time for the twiddling of green thumbs...always things to either plant out, dig out or find out.

eileen wrote on Tue Dec 18, 2007 12:14 am:

I must admit to being a bit of a seed addict too as I love to spot the first signs of greenery popping up through the soil. Somehow it makes me feel quite maternal. LOL