starting anew

This book is code for "I mean business."
Pd and I had a conversation recently, about what sort of gardener I am. I was lamenting that I was such a bad gardener, and he said that no, I was a reasonably good gardener; the problem is that I have a problem with ... attention.

I, on the other hand, maintain that watering, not to mention weeding, are dead simple ideas, and if I can't remember to do that, good gardening is probably out of my league. Even reasonably decent, if a bit hapless, gardeners are probably able to focus for the mere four months that a garden in Toronto is in bloom, yes?

(We have both taken serious vows to pay more attention to the garden this year. Who knows if it's going to happen, but at least we have Intentions.)

Nonetheless, and despite all that, I do try — and never more than at the beginning of spring, when hope abounds and nothing has died. Yet.


I started some seeds, just like I said I was going to: basil, bunching onions, tomatoes. I'm a little unsure, looking back, why I thought I would need nine basil plants and only four tomatoes, but whatever. We'll see if any or all of it germinates first.

(The six holes in the middle are empty — it's a self-watering seed starter that works by wicking, so I wanted to make sure the weight was even on each side. It's a brilliant little device, actually. More expensive and less vinegar-and-brown-paper than the toilet roll tubes, but on the other hand, also less prone to mold. That's a definite plus.)

I also started two of the calla lily bulbs. (Technically they are rhizomes, but we're just going to go with the nontechnical at this time. They look like bulbs.)




I am hoping they won't become rootbound too quickly — they recommend a 6" pot, but I only had 4" and 10" on hand. Hopefully, if these germinate successfully, I'll be able to transplant them outside before too long. I started them because, from what I can find, calla lilies are not exactly hardy in zone 6 and should be started indoors if I want them to bloom by early summer (like they're supposed to.)

If they don't germinate, I'll just plant the other bulbs straight into the yard when I do the gladiolas.

They're sitting in front of the west-facing window right now — the east-facing one having run out of room. Looking at them makes me feel like spring might be coming, despite the fact that the windchill was -13 when I left the house this morning.