Mail Call

It’s that time of year again. You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? Despite the frigid weather there is sunshine in our mailbox. Yes, the deluge of seed catalogs has begun! Yay!

I love trekking down to the end of our drive and pulling a stack of catalogs featuring breathtaking flowers and enormous vegetables from the mailbox. Honestly, these are the only catalogs that really capture my attention. I hold them close to my chest as I slog up the hill and back into the house. They are surrendered—momentarily—while I hang my down jacket and stuff my mittens in my snow boots. Then I bring them inside and sit beside the roaring fire with a cup of tea and pore over every page, dreaming of what we will grow come springtime.

This year we will scale back drastically on our gardening endeavors. There is no way around it; hubby will not be fully recovered for months and there’s just no way I’ll be able to care for all the gardens we usually plant. So we are going small this year but we are no less enthusiastic about it than if planned to go whole hog. We are being selective about choosing what we will plant.

I hope there might be a spot to try one or two unusual things this year, though. Last year we grew Walking Stick Kale because it looked interesting—and it was. This year I’ve got my eye on an African melon. Who knows? Maybe I’ll find a spot for a plant or two near the greenhouse. Really, how much extra work can a few melons be? Oh—there are Japanese eggplants that intrigue me, too. Hmm…melons and eggplants…and maybe some of that colored chard I saw in one of yesterday’s catalogs…

What about you? Are you planning your summer garden?