Now what?
I’ve sown seeds for the early spring vegetables outside in the garden, and inside I’ve sown seeds for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and a few flowers.
Now what?
I’ve taken dozens of pictures of crocuses over the last five weeks.
Now what?
Waiting, that’s what.
Did you ever notice that a lot of gardening time is spent waiting?
I’m waiting now for…
Seeds to sprout. After decades of sowing seeds in the spring or helping to sow seeds, I’m pretty confident that the seeds I’ve sown will germinate. But way down deep inside, there is always a little tiny kernel of doubt, of concern, that something won’t germinate. If that happens, I’ll just sow more seeds.
Rain to end. We are expecting quite a bit of rain in the next few days. I’m glad I got my vegetable garden started yesterday because I think it will be too wet the rest of the week to do much outside. I’m not complaining about the rain, mind you. And I won’t complain about the rains after that moderate drought we had last summer. I’m just waiting for it to end.
Grass to grow. Oh, yes, my love of mowing the lawn is well-documented and widely known. I don’t hide it, I embrace it! I should be mowing the lawn for the first time this spring sometime around the last week of March. And I must mow the lawn before April 3rd or it will have to wait until April 7th.
Pansies & violas to go on sale. I’m going to start cruising by some of the garden centers and yes, “big retailers” looking for pansies and violas for sale. My goal is to plant some in containers to put on my front porch by this coming weekend.
If like me, you are waiting, may I suggest some blog related activities for you?
Join in the Garden Bloggers’ Book Club.
It’s easy to join in this virtual book club. Read the current book selection, Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education by Michael Pollan, post something about it on your blog, let me know about your review via an email or comment, and then I’ll include a link to your review on the virtual meeting post on March 31st.
That’s all there is to it. You don’t have to ask in advance, be approved to become a member or anything like that.
In fact, you don’t even have to read the book. If you don’t have time to read this book, you can still participate by posting a review of any book written by Pollan. Or if you have another idea for a related post, go for it. The more the merrier.
Suggest a book or two to read in April and May.
I could still use some help with suggestions on what to read for the Garden Bloggers’ Book Club for the April-May selection. Send me an email or leave me a comment if you have some ideas for gardening related books that others would like to read.
Nominate your favorite blogs for the Mouse & Trowel awards.
Colleen at In The Garden Online is organizing the second annual “Mousie” awards and is accepting nominations in several categories with finalists announced on April 15th. Then voting will take place from April 15th – May 15th.
Post for the Garden Bloggers’ Design Workshop and Garden Bloggers’ Muse Day.
These are two great opportunities to join like minded gardeners in sharing thoughts on design in the garden and poetry and quotes about gardening.
Get caught up on reading everyone’s bloom day posts.
I’ve added a few more bloggers to the list of participants for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, so we are up to 81 participants. From coast to coast and around the world, nearly everyone has something blooming in March.
Plan now how to dress up your hoes for the Garden Bloggers’ Hoe Down on May 3rd.
If you are a blogger and you own a hoe, you will not want to miss this once in a blog-life event. My hoes will all be there, and maybe I’ll have a few new hoes by then, too.
Goodness, we have quite the “social calendar” for our blogs, don’t we?
Finally, don’t forget that May Dreams Gardens will be the first stop on Susan Wittig Albert’s blog tour to promote her new China Bayles mystery Nightshade. On March 24th, Susan will be my guest blogger with some information on “notorious nightshades”. I’m looking forward to hosting her and giving her an old fashioned Hoosier May Dreams Gardens welcome, so check back on March 24th to find out more about nightshades and to enter a drawing to win a first edition copy of Susan’s new book, Nightshade.
Between gardening and blogging about gardening, can anyone really get bored?
Actually no. Between gardening and gardening I find it a bit of a challenge keeping up with blogging— but manage somehow because – well because… it is “about” gardening so I find the time even when I should be sleeping — like now. LOL
Great post. Pansies and violas on your porch hmmm… sounds like you are getting ready for some fun and some great color.
Meems @Hoe&Shovel
Carol, so many things to do! So little time. I still haven’t sown my indoor seeds. Do you think next week will be okay? Loking forward to all the activities!
I’m not doing much waiting as there is just so much to do in the garden, my greenhouse and conservatory. And with all the sowing and blogging too.
Good idea to go out and buy lots of violas and pansies for your containers, they will cheer your front porch and you up!
All I do is wait, and I’m not much good at it. The snow is ALMOST all gone, and there are a few tulips and daylilies breaking the ground. It’s too early to plant seeds, maybe next week I can get a start some indoors so they can go out by May 30th.
Blogging is such a great experience but I’m with meems, it’s hard to find the time for this wonderful past time. Thankfully I don’t watch any TV so I spend the evenings answering comments and visiting other blogs.
Pansies? I’m at the same point as you, I’ve promised myself to get out and get some pansies before this weekend. There were none yet at the big box stores this past Friday. Wait, there were some there but they were planted in a big bowl planter and were $16.99. I just want to buy a flat full and plant them out myself, don’t need the bowl.
I haven’t been bored since my kids were born. It’s trying to find time for all this stuff that’s the problem. I still haven’t made it all the way through the Bloom Day posts yet. And there’s eggs & coloring to buy for Easter & Jello eggs to make & basket goodies to buy…
Can’t get bored this time of year. So much to do. Except when it rains. Such frustration. I guess I will just have to paint some pictures of flowers since I can’t get out and do gardening.
I am thinking about the Hoe Down. Can’t wait for that.
Heh…don’t forget “waiting for snow to melt”!
Carol,
I can’t believe it’s taken so long to find out about GBBC. A perfect excuse to add even more books to my ‘To Read’ list 🙂
Second Nature arrived yesterday, so I may miss the 31st deadline as I’m reading 3 other books at the moment.
I have some suggestions for April/May – not sure if any of them are duplicate suggestions that were rejected earlier or have featured already on GBBC, but here goes:
The Essential Earthman – Henry Mitchell on Gardening. Recommended by a friend, but I don’t know much about it. Had a look on Amazon and looks promising after using The Search Inside feature
Cuttings by Christopher Lloyd – 1 of the 3 I’m reading at the moment. It’s a collection of his best columns from The Guardian newspaper and a fitting tribute to the great man
No Nettles Required – The Reassuring Truth About Wildlife Gardening by Ken Thompson. At last a book on wildlife gardening based on scientific research by an academic with great communication skills and a sense of humour! I’m also reading his An Ear to The Ground which is plant science for the non-academic like me. Fascinating reading – I know understand why there can’t be a blue rose without GM being used.
Not strictly speaking gardening books per se, but related and I like the look of them. Both are by Bee Wilson:
Swindled: From Poison Sweets to Counterfeit Coffee – the Dark History of the Food Cheats. A history of food, politics and swindling from Roman times to the present day
The Hive: The Story of the Honey & Us.
Phew! I could add more, but I think that’s enough for now. All of these are readily available over here. I suspect most of them will be available over your side of the pond too, though the Ken Thompson ones may be a little harder to find (worth hunting for though). Let me know what you think!