Dreaming of Spring

Yes, it’s me again, nattering on about the cold, cold, horribly cold winter we’re having here in Minnesota—and a lot of other places too, I know. But, honestly, most of you in other states will be warm again far sooner than we will here in the tundra. So I feel entitled to go on about this a bit more and if you don’t agree, please don’t send me another email telling me that if I don’t love it in Minnesota, I should move. Move where? In with you? Awesome!

At least the fern frost continues to put on a show on the bathroom window.

Anyway, as I was saying, a local meteorologist wrote the other day that Minnesotans are experiencing the coldest winter in 33 years. I didn’t live here then, but I believe him. Minnesotans are tough, but it’s been far below zero with mind-boggling wind chills for a long time now. Kids are bored at home because schools have been closed repeatedly. Parents are using up precious vacation days staying home with bored kids. And bored dogs wish they could go outside, but they can’t stand how cold their paws get, even with those awful booties that they hate.

We are a stir-crazy lot, motivated to do little more than lie on the couch and drink and order takeout while watching movie after movie. Or is that just me? BTW, I would highly recommend Seven Psychopaths and The Heat, but I thought Iron Man 3 was kind of meh even though I loved the first two.

What does this have to do with gardening? you wonder. Well, in an effort to stop spending so much time eating, drinking and watching movies, I recently tried focusing on spring to brighten my mood and, by golly, it worked! In addition to looking at a bunch of the garden-related photos I took last season, I also spent a few hours going through all of the seed and plant catalogs that have piled up on my living room coffee table. That was fun, especially because our sweet dog, Lily, helped by napping on me the whole time.

Lily doesn’t much care that she’s making it hard for me to take notes on the vegetable seeds that I want to order for next year.

So if you’re bored and freezing and in need of some good cheer, I’ve posted a few photos below in the hope that they help a bit.  And if you haven’t already started looking at your seed and plant catalogs, give it a go. I bet it will make you feel better to start thinking about what you’ll plant in just a few weeks or months, depending on where your live. I especially love Renee’s Garden, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (their catalog is a work of art—just ignore the religious quotes that pop up now and then), Seed Savers Exchange, Fedco Seeds, Prairie Moon Nursery and Territorial Seed Company.

Our friend Kendall makes these lovely succulent frames to hang on her patio in San Francisco.

A fabulous giant pumpkin at last year’s Minnesota State Fair.

I like the way Tangletown Gardens planted this container by grouping plants en masse.

Gorgeous seeds that I harvested from a plant on my boulevard. I planted it, but forgot what it is. Can you guess from looking at these seeds?

Yes, we WILL be out shopping for plants again soon.

Note the ridiculously tall Kentucky Wonder pole beans in my vegetable garden last year. Insanely tall, produced about 40 beans in the last couple of weeks of the season. What gives?

This was one of several little water gardens I saw at a house on one of the garden tours last year.

Doesn’t all that green make you feel better already? Check out that variegated Solomon’s seal.

What a great lesson in how to combine different colors and textures. Again, it is the work of Tangletown Gardens.

That’s it for now. Hang in there. Spring is really, seriously, surely on the way.