Garden dreams

So most years I don't start really fantasizing about my garden until after Imbolc but this year it started right after New Year's. I guess it's like how the Christmas decorations seem to be making their way out in stores earlier and earlier every year. This year I was seeing them around Halloween.

Anyhow, I got a coupon in my email from Burpee for 5 dollars off any purchase of 30 or more. I've never ordered live plants from them but they had a couple varieties I can't find in garden centers around here so I figured I'd give it a whirl. So I bought two three-packs of plants and they promise to ship them in sync with the last frost for my planting zone (which is 6 here in lovely western PA), so they should go out around the end of April and get to me shortly before my birthday. I got a variety of tomato called 'salsa' which is supposed to hold up nice and non-drippy for fresh salsa and bruschetta, and a new hybrid of jalapeno called, 'big guy,' which I think is self-explanatory. And a pack of seeds for their heat wave lettuce varieties. I didn't find any appealing lettuce plants last year locally.

I am so excited to get into the garden and plant and grow stuff. It is my therapy. It is my ancestor time. My grandmother was a gardener. My mother is a gardener. I am sure it goes back further, too. I can feel it. I still need to finish cleaning out my raised box from last year's crop. I got a little too excited last year and my garden got way out of hand. This year I think we're going back to basics. No tomatillos. No weird shaped chinese eggplants. No pickling cucumbers. I did enjoy growing kale, and got a nice crop last year, so I might consider that. We'll do tomatoes and jalapenos. I've never had much luck with sweet peppers or zucchini and they're cheap enough to buy in the summertime and freeze. I always make a huge batch of my grandmother's zucchini soup. It's like having your veggie garden in a bowl. I eat it cold. Gods it is wonderful!

My favorite things to grow, however, are herbs. In fact my birthday present from my mother every year largely consists of herb plants. The side of my house is full of them. Oregano, thyme, tarragon, chives, St. John's wort, lavender. Gods, I have lots of lavender. It's my favorite. I get basil, parsley, and cilantro every year. Last year we found cinnamon basil and that was fantastic. Hoping I can find it again this year. I also always grow rosemary, although I can't get to winter inside. It always dies, and I always end up starting over the next year. Herbs, herbs, herbs. Herbs in my cooking, in my baking, in my tea, hanging in bunches on my wall, stuffed into sachets, dried and used in potpourris, stuffed into bottles and covered with vinegar and olive oil.

I might make it through this winter, yet.