Winter Dreaming

Winter is a time of dreaming.  When it gets cold and gray, it is just natural to think of  lazy days on the beach or barbequing in the backyard and spring fashions in glorious colors.  For gardeners a certain madness takes over.  Winter dreaming brings visions of a day warm enough to get out and clear away the ravages of winter and dig in the earth.  Then come visions of iris season, azalea season, beautiful roses, drifts of daffodils, fruit trees in full bloom, peas and squash ready to be picked.

Catalog Fever is at its peak in Winter.  I go to my computer and search seed catalogs, plant catalogs, rose catalogs; and send for a paper copy.  Online is okay; but to have that paper catalog in my hands, now that is heaven.  I stash them everywhere--briefcase, tool box, purse.  Stash them in a desk drawer and under the seat of my vehicle.  I put sticky notes on my favorite pages.  Long hours are spent studying them and there are many quick peeks.

My idea of paradise is to order everything I want!  If I had an unlimited budget and a large number of acres at my disposal, I would be in business.  I don't, so I have to make some choices.

I have found a few questions that help me decide what to buy.

What do I reallly like?   What does my family enjoy eating?  Do I want colorful flowers in the landscape and to bring into the house?  Do I prefer a green landscape?  Do I need a living screen for privacy?  Do I have space for a big, shade tree, or do I need a smaller tree to fit a small yard?  What am I curious about?  What do I want to grow just for the fun of it?

How much sun does my garden receive?  I spend some time observing the patterns of sun, shade and filtered shade.  I make it a long term project though the year and keep notes.  Some flowers need six hours or more of direct sun to bloom well.  Others need morning sun and the protection of afternoon shade in the heat of summer. Where I live, the two most popular lawn grasses require a minimum of six hours of direct sun, otherwise they just fade away.

How much water is available?  Water rationing is a reality of summer gardening most years for me and a critical consideration in chosing what to put in the garden.

How much time and energy do I have to maintain the garden?  Am I going to be willing to pick beans once or twice a day for the duration of bean season?  Do I want to do what it takes to care  for hybrid roses?  Do I enjoy pruning the shrubbery several times a season?

How much space is available?  I am the empress of  "I'll work it in."  Hint:  Planting two pecan trees in the back yard of a 50'x100' lot does not work, and if I am going to grow anything else I don't need eight packages of different kind of sunflower seeds.

What is my gardening budget?  Ah, money.  Sometimes it is limited funds that save the gardener from him or herself.  Order what fits the budget for the year.  Consider the other expenses involved beyond seeds and plants--water, fertilizer, equipment, helpers, canning jars, sugar, etc.  How much garden bounty do I want to can?  How much freezer space is available?

Making a sketch of the garden helps decide what I will welcome into the garden.  Even a rough sketch on the back of an envelope helps.  I want to leave a bit of room for the treasures that usually come my way from family, friends, plant sales and curbside finds.

Good News.  Catalog Fever goes away pretty much once I can actually get out and dig in the dirt!  (Until next year.)