Seeds and Snow

When do you plan your garden?

When the snow flies?

My father was an avid gardener, and an excellent teacher. When I was about six years old, he took me into Grandma’s large garden, and said, “we have work to do, and I want you to be my helper.”

Patiently, he marked out the rows with 2 sticks and a string, hoed a narrow groove under the string, then handed me a small bag of seeds…

“Watch me”, he poked tiny holes under the string down the entire row. Following him, it was my turn to count out 3 tiny seeds and drop them into each hole, then covering them gently with just my finger.

A simple lesson that lasted a lifetime for me, and a memory that has never faded.

Years passed. Grandma’s garden was never neglected, but meticulously cared for by my father.

As I grew, I noticed his pattern of planning and preparation for the garden, and it began in January, of all things! Though the ground was frozen solid and covered with snow, he started his new-year-mornings studying the new annual edition of the Burpees’ Seed Catalog.

At the kitchen table, with his coffee cup beside him and the catalog in front of him, he literally leaned forward over the table carefully studying each “new” seed available for our “growing zone”.

Another lesson followed.

“Why are you getting seeds in the middle of Winter?”

Farmers work all year. People want to eat all year. Planning ahead is important, crops take time to plant, grow, then harvest, you can’t wait until the last minute. (Ha! he knew his helper so well:))

Today, I still have his old hoe, his favorite shovel with the handle duct-taped together, and a love of gardening and old farmhouses that I can’t quite explain…it seems to be a favorite part of me.

Watch. Follow me. You can do it. Good job!

My friend, as always, I thank you for reading…I truly wanted to talk about gardening, thinking ahead, how crucial it is to plan; but memories flooded over me, and it all came back to my “teacher”, my example for life, my father.

That happens often, with me. Still.

I hope that planting hydrangeas counts as gardening; oh! and I plant an herb kitchen garden, and always, I combine annuals and perennials for seasonal, consistent color in my landscaping. I’m not using Dad’s tools, but I am living out the lessons he taught me, and I’m grateful for that.

Happy almost planting time, buy good seeds and watch your zone…

Now, go play in the dirt!

xx,