A peek into the garden, again

Bad blogger, better gardener

Oh my poor, abandoned blog. I have not forgotten thee. And reaching more than 10,000 visits since I have been back! Wow. Thank you all for your faithful reading and support. I promise to do a better job at keeping up with this.

While my blog has been collecting weeds, my garden is thriving! About a month solid of rain is making for beautiful flowers and yummy strawberries, green onions, carrots and herbs. Hallelujah.

Isn’t the ‘flower’ function of the Canon Rebel the best?

Let there be life

Tulips! (And dandelions, but we can ignore those)

Green onions sprouting in pots

Oh spring, you are satisfying to the soul.

Breaking ground, clearing the weeds, refreshing and recharging

The weather finally warmed up here in Northern Missouri, and I’m proud to report my daffodils are in bloom!

Although later than I was hoping for, the weather was finally dry enough to begin work on the garden. And oh, there is so much work to do. Clearing out dead branches and dead plants from the previous year (left through winter to provide cover for bugs, bees, spiders …), pruning, weeding, watering, planting, mulching, moving, dividing ….

Oh. My. At some point in life, I need to live somewhere that has a climate conducive to gardening year round. There is nothing, nothing more stress reducing than getting your hands dirty, getting a great workout and standing back to admire the fruits of your labor. One blog I was reading recently referred to always finding a plant growing from seed to be a little miracle, and I agree. The thrill of running to the garden every day to see what new miracles have transpired is absolutely priceless.

At work, we are going through a reorganization of sorts. Leadership has changed, and we are evolving and redefining our mission, purpose and job descriptions. It’s been a time of uncertainty, growth and opportunity. And not unlike the first few days in the garden in the spring. As we clear old branches and spent flowers that no longer support the main plant or future growth, so we must continue to do in organizations. As we experiment with new gardening tips and plant species, so we experiment with new things in the work place, encouraging those with promising results to thrive and ridding ourselves of ones who just don’t fit in the garden. Eliminating old growth to encourage new. Clearing out the clutter to see the original plant – the greater picture.

It’s been refreshing, intimidating and challenging (in good and bad ways) to go through these changes at work, dredging up the same feelings I have at the beginning of each spring. I stand back, look at my garden, and think, oh there is so much to do. So much to clear. So many things to sort out. What was I thinking taking on this big of a project? Where do I start?

But then, you do. You take a step forward. You carefully prune away a branch you know won’t be missed. You rid yourselves of the obvious weeds. You monitor and nurture new growth. Before you know it, you’re hooked. Things start making sense. Plants are thriving, healthy, working together to create a beautiful landscape.

OK, so this is hokey and a bit cliched. But, you get my point. I’ve been overwhelmed and invigorated by life’s tasks recently, from the office to the garden. Little by little, though, it’s starting to make sense. I’m starting to see the flowers through the weeds.

Welcome, spring.

The Jewel Box

My previously mentioned step-brother’s wedding was so much fun, and the wedding location was a gardener’s/photographer’s dream. Set in The Jewel Box, an art deco green house in the middle of the beautiful Forest Park in St. Louis, you couldn’t ask for a much more picturesque location.

Taken from: http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/jewelbox/

"To Cultivate a Garden is to Walk with God"

Also from: http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/jewelbox/

This trip, coupled with this beautiful weather, is inspiring me to get out in my garden and finally chop down some of the old growth, lay some new mulch, plant seeds … if only the ground would dry out before the rain starts again!

Seeds for spring

Snow is predicted for here tonight through tomorrow – a total accumulation of 3-5 inches. We’ve had about 2 times more snow than normal and ridiculously cold weather. I’m home sick today – for the second time in two months. I needed a pick me up.

So, it was time to order seeds for the spring’s garden. Just the pick me up I needed. I can’t wait to get my hands back in the dirt, to have small bouquets of brightly colored flowers, and to make delicious food with fresh herbs and veggies from the garden.

I ordered everything from rareseeds.com, and can’t wait for it to get here! The company is based in Missouri, so the seeds are semi local (regional anyway), non genetically modified, and will enable us to eat local food grown from our garden. Happy.

Here’s the stash that’s on it’s way to our house in the next few days:

Yellow prairie coneflower

Blue flax

Siam Queen Thai Basil

Genovese basil

Slow bolt cilantro

Dill bouquet

Purple coneflower

Feverfew

Oregano

Tarragon

Thai sweet basil

Yarrow

Contender Buff Valentine Bush Bean

Royalty Purple Bush Bean

Amarillo yellow carrots

Cosmic purple carrots

Snow white carrots

The only things remaining to purchase are 6 tomato plants (variety of roma and heirloom), and a bag or two of onion sets for growing green onions.

By the way, seed gardening is such a bargain. I will be getting between 150-300 seeds of all of the above and the total cost was only $35. Woohoo!

Did I mention I miss my garden?

Spring, spring … can you please come sooner?

Oh, and groundhog? We need to talk.