"Just talk to yourself"

In the past week the violets and bleeding hearts in my garden have (just barely) started to sprout up. I am particularly excited about this because I transplanted them from my grandparents’ garden late last spring, just after the house was sold. I dug them up and drove them home on impulse, wanting to have a memento of the yard in which my mother and her siblings had grown up and in which my cousins and I had also played. I am happy that these plants seem to have survived their first year in my garden.

These plants are also special to me because my grandparents once tended them. My grandfather was a great veggie gardener and my grandmother had a pretty flower border. In the last year of my grandfather’s life he and I had some nice conversations about the value of gardening. He felt strongly that everyone should try his or her hand at growing something. He saw great benefits in being out in the fresh air, keeping active and being constructive, and creating something of which to be proud. Gardening also presents a great opportunity for you to “just talk to yourself,” he would say. I wasn’t sure what he meant by this at first, but now I relish my time in my garden or working with my houseplants because it does give me the chance to think quietly. Any worry I might have usually seems much less worrisome after some time in the garden. If I have a problem, I often find a creative solution or at least a brighter perspective after a chat with my plants.

I mentioned in my last post that I was looking forward to seeing some goldfinches as the weather warmed. About two days after I wrote, and about every day since, four of them have been visiting the bird feeder. The four are always together. I thought they wouldn’t be here until late spring. I just looked them up in my National Audubon Society’s North American Birdfeeder Handbook and learned they live in my area year-round. I also learned they are brownish gray in winter, and in spring the males become bright yellow and the females, yellowish. Maybe they have molted and that’s why I’m noticing them? The book also says that they feed on tree seeds, thistles, dandelions, evening primrose, sunflower, goldenrod, and lettuce seed. I want to make my yard and garden a safe, welcoming place for birds and pollinators this year. I have just started reading Letters from Eden by Julie Zickefoose (published last fall by Houghton Mifflin). It is very inspiring.

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4/18/2007 1:42:53 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] 

What’s Up?

We had good weather this past weekend (sunny and near 60 degrees), which made me want to garden. I did a few chores out back and took stock of the signs of spring.

First, the bird activity is way up. We have black-capped and Carolina chickadees, tufted titmice, cardinals, and juncos (my favorite) at the feeders all winter, but there seem to be more of them lately and they are flying and singing with more vigor. The blue jays are also around more, as are the mourning doves. Neither of these really thrill me. The mourning doves can be cute, though, when they hunker down in a patch of sun or waddle around pecking in my garden. There were lots of robins in the grass this weekend, too. I am looking forward to the goldfinches that come with the warmer weather. Last summer there was one that used to sit on the top of a big blue columnar cactus that I put out on the deck once it gets warm enough (nights over 55).

In my garden, I noticed columbines, tiger lilies, perennial phlox, and sedum are starting to grow. The neighbors’ daffodils are up, but not yet blooming.

I started Johnny-jump-up (Viola tricolor), forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica ‘Blue Bird’), and dwarf morning glory (Convolvulus ‘Blue Enchantment’) seeds indoors several weeks ago. They sprouted sooner than I expected (in about five days rather than the ten days indicated on the packets) and now have their first sets of true leaves. I plan to start other Viola species this weekend.

On the light stand at the office I have candytuft (Iberis sempervirens) seedlings, alongside Liz’s cucumbers, tomatoes, and strawberries. I saw candytuft in a display at the New England Spring Flower Show, fell in love, and bought a packet of seeds. I’m not sure where I’ll plant it in my yard, but there’s time to figure that out; we had a nice weekend, as I mentioned, but the temperature has gone downhill since then!

4/3/2007 2:22:48 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0]