When Will Your Garden Grow
It’s here. I know it is because the trees have started to turn beautiful shades
of green. The apple trees and pin cherry trees have given us a display of
beautiful flowers. The birds are back and they wake me every morning with
their chatter. I hear the mourning doves in the evergreens cooing. But where
is the warmth of spring this year?
A bear has already visited my neighbourhood as he passed through looking for
anything to eat. The raccoon is back and the squirrel and chipmunks are
looking for their treats as they scurry along the fence. They are up to their
usual mischief again this year. The rabbit that lives in the back yard has
changed its coat from a white and gray to a brown and fawn. And yes, those
pesky blackfies have arrived as well. All these indicators say that spring has
arrived.
As a gardener I am anxious to get the show on the road. Where is the warmth
that will make the soil ready for me this year? I know that every gardener in
town is wondering the same thing along with me. The garden centers are starting
to get busy in our area now even though they have been hit by an unexpected
frost recently.
Now that the price of food is going up more and more of us are gardening. All
this gardening readiness brings to my mind a few old fashion gardening tricks.
As a kid I was always intrigued by how the garden produced and watched my
father and grandparents work their magic in their huge gardens every chance I
could. I remember my grandmother telling me about one funny way to know if the
soil is ready to be planted. She smiled as she told me a good gardener will
take off their shoes and socks and stand on the soil for awhile. If their feet
didn’t get cold then they knew it was safe to plant.
Composting seems to be catching on again as we push towards a greener planet.
Composting in the good old days wasn’t done in fancy containers. My Dad would
dig a hole in a different part of his garden every year. All summer long he
would place his kitchen scraps into this hole. He would cover them up as he
placed them in the hole thereby having layers of compost in the soil. The next
growing season he would move his underground composter to another part of the
garden. This gave him an enriched soil that always produced a wonderful
display of flowers and fresh vegetables all season. There was always enough
garden produce left over in the fall to make many delicious preserves. I’m
sure there are a lot more good old tricks to help us produce what we want and
we can and bring them back into use today.
As a gardener I am a great fan of the wonderful hardy perennials that grow in
our area. I do buy a few annuals to sprinkle amongst them each year.
Vegetables that are home grown are like the icing on the cake. There is
nothing like going out to the garden and digging up some fresh potatoes to put
on the table for supper. How about that fresh tomato for that toasted sandwich
you have been craving for lunch or being able to munch on fresh pea pods as
they fill with peas. Fresh beans, spinach, lettuce, garlic and much more all
grow well here in our town. I see a lot of my fellow gardeners returning to
the old fashion vegetable gardens once more.
We have an abundance of opportunity to feed ourselves well in this area. We
have much more than the ability to look out upon beauty in the flowers that we
grow. One of my favourite quotes about flowers comes to mind as I approach the
growing season this year. It was one written by Henry Ward Beecher. “What a
pity flowers can utter no sound! A singing rose a whispering violet, a
murmuring honeysuckle, oh, what a rare and exquisite miracle would there be!”
What a great addition that would make to the songs of the many birds who visit
my garden.
Have fun in your gardens this year everyone. I’m sure it will get warmer. As
for me today I plan to head out to the garden in my bare feet and stand in my
garden for awhile.
Jessica
