Seed Catalogs and Planting New Ideas

I love this time of year...still in the grips of winter but the seed catalogs have arrived. I can sit with a cup of tea and start dreaming and planning for the new year. Seed catalogs are inspiring and I always get carried away. Last year I think I planted 13 varieties of tomatoes (multiples of each) and honestly it was too ambitious. After living at 8,000' for 9 years I was so ready to have a real garden again that I over did it. Not being used to the new environment challenges of living on a Mesa didn't help.

I started off great though. Seedlings all lined up in the windows of the house all being lovingly cared for and nurtured. They started off so well. Heirloom tomatoes, peppers, beans, lettuces, and herbs. Every thing transplanted well and plants flourished, fruit set and then... nothing. Nothing would ripen. The weather was hot, cold, hot, cold, blistering hot. Then the baby tomatoes started disappearing; chipmunks were having a smorgasbord. They were small enough to squeeze themselves under the chicken wire. My tomatillos were lush. Huge plants loaded with flowers and nothing but flowers for most of the summer. Where were the bees? Then all of a sudden they were heavily laden with fruit and then I thought I'd have them coming out of my ears. Then we had an early frost and they were gone... all gone. It was so sad. I think we ate three! Oh the woes and joys of gardening.

However along with the seed catalogs comes the renewed sense of hope for the future. You learn from your mistakes, you get a bit more realistic, you rearrange, regroup and set your dreams higher.In that sense gardening is a reflection of life. You don't necessarily get rewarded for all your hard work but in the end you know you tried and the journey is more important then the end results anyway. You have a sense of accomplishment for all of your efforts and when you are rewarded the taste is sweet. There is nothing like a home grown tomato, warm from the sun, eaten right on the spot.

Some of my favorite seed catalogs are Bountiful Gardens out of Willits, CA. which is a project of Ecology Action. All of their seeds are open-pollinated and untreated and never genetically modified.

Another favorite is Gourmet Seed International & Italian Seed in Tatum, New Mexico. What a variety! If you can dream it they probably have it.

The picture above I believe was a Russian heirloom variety Anna with oxheart shaped tomatoes.

Plant the seed of inspirition today!

Beauty is in the Details

There can be beauty in the details that go unnoticed if one does not look closely enough, like in the picture of yellow leaves on a stone walkway after a rain. The pattern and color contrast was so beautiful and so simple that it caught my eye. It was actually taken in a sculpture garden in Houston, Tx. which in of itself was a wonderful place. It didn't matter that it was raining off and on. The rain added to the beauty that day. The air was soft and fresh and the sculpture was wet and glistening. Angles of green lawn crossed by dark walls, plantings of trees that offset the sculptures and framed them. A meandering path that led to new "discoveries". Some of the art wasn't the art at all but the natural beauty that surrounded the space.

When I walk out on the Mesa I look for interesting rocks, animal tracks in the dirt, color changes of the plants in the different seasons. We had some snow not long ago and the tracks of birds and small animals made interesting patterns in the snow. Ice formations that form on the banks of a mountain creek in the winter, rock formations, clouds in the sky...all add layers of beauty to our day if we take note.

This morning I went out in the backyard and the telephone line and trees were full of birds all singing merrily. I filled the bird feeders with seed and the bird bath with water and went in and within a few moments they descended to have breakfast. Even though the sky was gray and overcast there was an uplifting feeling to the morning. I felt energized today and I was up early.
In town I noticed the first patch of daffodils in bloom that I had seen this year. Spring is nearly upon us... or at least teasing us. I had to bring flowers home and picked up a couple of bunches of alstromeria, Peruvian lily. They are beautiful and long lasting and fairly inexpensive.

With the hope of Spring around the corner comes feelings of renewed hope for the coming year. A time to think about what you want to accomplish, your dreams and aspirations for the new year. Make one of those goals to notice and appreciate the small things that add beauty to your daily life...the details.