Dreaming of spring

I find myself gazing out the dining room window at the mounds of snow piled up everywhere.  It's been awhile since we've had this much snow.  I think the last winter that was this wintery was the year that Nicholas was born and my brother-in-law passed his time by moving the snow from our front yard into the park that backed our house.  I don't think all this snow will be gone until April, at the earliest.  It's hard to believe that it's time to start dreaming up the garden of 2013.

Yet dreaming I did a few weekends ago.  I don't even know what motivated it.  But somehow, I went from doodling to having a full-fledged "concept drawing" (which is how we've come to refer to my not-drawn-to-scale sketches) of our garden spaces, a list of plants that I thought we would enjoy immensely, and where everything on that list would go.  When the rest of the family arrived home and all the outdoor gear was put away, they had a quick look to make sure I hadn't missed something crucially important.

Every year there is usually some sort of experiment that we take on.  Usually it is some fruit or vegetable that we haven't grown before, but it could also be trying out a new space to grow our perennial favorites.  Last year was celery and the planters in the backyard and a community garden plot.  The year before was asparagus.  This year, we're planning to grow popcorn.  Just the thought of a fresh-from-the-vine tomato is heavenly enough, but the thought of growing something new-to-us really ups the anticipation.

This year, I think I'll also save a garden box or a planter or two for the Nature Club.  I read about the concept of a pizza garden in Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots.  So, I'll gather up ideas from Nature Club for pizza toppings that can grow in our climate, ask for their help with planting seeds, preparing soil, transplanting, weeding and watering, which will eventually culminate in a homegrown pizza!  Yum

I'll be slowly moving into the next phase of this spring dreaming.  We've browsed through some seed catalogues and I'm very much looking forward to Seedy Saturday, which is a local come-and-go for gardeners looking to swap seed or buy some from local vendors.  March and April will be a month of planting seeds and tending those little plants that will hopefully go out into the outdoor world in May. 

And May will be bliss.