Can I just tell you, I’m so excited for spring! There are bunches of daffodils coming up all over my yard, as well as some hyacinth. The enormous rhododendron is budding. Primrose, cyclamen and a few other mystery plants are starting to present themselves. I’ve never seen my yard in spring and I can’t wait!
I attended a pruning seminar at Sky Nursery on Saturday. It felt so good to be back in an “academic” setting- sitting, listening, taking notes. I’ve done some reading about gardening in the past, but mostly I’ve learned through doing and observing. As the lecturer recommended a few books I excited at the idea of studying up on pruning, planting, and landscape design. I came home and requested a whole raft of books from the library. Now, before I can plant, I thought, is when I ought to study up and take my horticultural understanding to the next level.
I’m eager to get my garden bed prepped- something that is a bit hard to do in my incredibly pregnant state. I’ve started a list of what I want to grow: raspberries: Tulameen and Meeker, blueberries: Pink Lemonade, Patriot, Toro, concord grapes, kale: Tuscan and curly, swiss chard, leeks, artichoke, arugula, sugar snap peas. .  . I’ve been researching what grows best in the Pacific Northwest, in hopes of not spending a bunch of time and money on something that isn’t going to produce. The lecturer kept emphasizing that successful gardening is about getting the right plant in the right place. While it kills me to not plant eggplant and tomatoes I know it will be all the more frustrating if I do plant and care for them only to produce green tomatoes and small hard eggplant.
I sent my sister, and gardening cohort, Sabina a rambling e-mail about all my gardening thoughts. She responded by saying my e-mail had awakened a slumbering beast within her. She continued to bemoan her own difficulty with keeping herself in check as her spring time energy often results in late summer fatigue.
I appreciated her honesty and it made me step back and consider what I really want out of this garden. I enjoyed that last summer I could easily take off for stretches at a time with only the concern of a few pots’ deaths on my mind.  At the same time I can’t deny the satisfaction and joy I gain from working the earth and eating my own. It’s a balance issue, as always.
In the end I decided that my overarching goal this year would be to put in my perennial produce: raspberries, blueberries, asparagus(?), concord grapes(?) and get my bed all ready for a more abundant garden next year. That’s my main goal. I’ll plant some greens and herbs, and whatever makes my heart sing, but I’ll only hold myself responsible for jumpstarting our fruit production! All of these plants are going into virgin earth at this point. There is a TON of work to be done to even clear a space for them, so I needn’t overwhelm myself, right?