Monday, April 26, 2010

Absent Minded Gardening

There are pros and cons to being an absent minded gardener, and today I was witness to both.

Cons:

The over-ordering of seeds.  Every year I order seeds, either forgetting what I had in stock, or forgetting where I left my stock.





















Here we see more varieties of lettuce than any one person could really need.















And here we see the seeds the mice got when I forgot them in the garden shed over winter... my bad.

I also end up with a lot of trial and error lessons.  For  instance -- I cut back the rosemary in the fall and it isn't growing back.  With the lavender, however, I cut two back and left two.  The two I cut are growing back, but not the ones I left alone.  Next year I'll cut the lavender and leave the rosemary.

Pros:

There are some benefits to being so forgetful.  Last year I forgot to pull the arugula before it went to seed.  And this year:















I may have an abundance of arugula.  Always a pleasant surprise!

When it comes right down to it it doesn't really matter what I remember or neglect.  Something always grows out there and it's usually something tasty.  If enough of it grows it may even have a positive impact on our grocery bill -- if not, it's at least a few interesting side dishes we wouldn't have otherwise.  And there's always the satisfaction of growing something good in my own back yard.















And let's not forget the sheer joy of getting outside from time to time.  I thought about doing several loads of laundry today, but spent most of the afternoon in the backyard instead.

Look, a pea I planted a few weeks ago!  I can hardly WAIT to shell and eat some raw peas.  Mmmm!



As long as I have the foresight to do a few things right, and the humour to laugh at what I don't, my garden will always be a joy and a success.

Sidenote:  While gardening today I separated some forget-me-nots, a few lilac cuttings and some alliums.  Anyone want them?

3 comments:

  1. I would take some alliums and fresh shelled peas katrina...ooops the peas are not ready yet (haha).
    I love your attitude regarding it all and life in general Katrina; you are sure to live to be over 100 for sure.

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  2. Hi Dale! I can definitely hook you up with some alliums, but the peas will take some time. I have lots of seeds though, if you want to grow your own peas! I think I have about three varieties to choose from!

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  3. Oooh!! I love it when stuff comes back up. Sadly I think my Rosemary didn't make it, but my lavendar (I put it in my neighbours yard) seems to be coming back up nicely.

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