This Morning’s Surprises

First nasturtium flower.

FIRST TOMATO!

New Adventures: Seeds

Today I bought seeds.  I’ve never bought seeds before, or made any attempt to garden (other than a sad little window box of herbs that rotted on our balcony railing in the dim, rainy courtyard of our last apartment a couple of summers ago.)

I’m a novice gardener, so it might make more sense for me to buy seedlings.  However, encouraged by the gardening books of Gayla Trail, I’ve convinced myself that a) I can’t afford to buy all the plants I want in seedling form, and b) I can start all the plants I need indoors before the last frost.

I ordered a handful of flowers: cosmos, rudbeckia, nasturtiums…

…but mostly, I bought vegetables and herbs.  Especially exciting: four varieties of basil, some rainbow chard, and pattypan squash.

I purchased from two online seed shops: Salt Spring Seeds in British Columbia and Greta’s Organic Gardens in Ontario, both listed as resources in Trail’s books.  In all, I purchased about 30 packets of seeds.  For someone who’s never bought a seed before, that’s a lot.  And I haven’t even started thinking about the flower garden in the front yard.

Am I nuts?  Possibly.  I haven’t yet figured out where I’m going to start the seedlings; the purchase of some grow-lights may be in order.  What’s more, spending more than I can afford on a hobby that’s still mostly fantasy is…foolhardy.

However.  It’s cold and dark out there.  Everything’s dying.  (Given recent world events, my garden is the least of it.)  In the face of all that, I just spent a whole afternoon planning for the days when things start springing back to life.

It was a good afternoon.

If all goes well, it will lead to salads.

Images: Adrian van Leen, Nathalie Dulex, SP Veres, Dez Pain, Sanja Gjenero, Agnes Scholiers