A Couple of Months Ago

 

At the early onset of cabin fever, I was lured into the pages of a seed catalog....oh, those tempting, seductive, cover photos...oh, my, oh, my, oh, my downfall.

Now, on the dining room table, because I have so many plants I can't find room for the seed starter tray near the big windows, tiny, almost microscopic, herb plants are poking up out of the soil...

Mexican Mint, which appears to be some kind of marigold. I dunno what it actually is, but the photo caught my eye so onto the order it went. Seedlings are pretty scraggly, but I can hope.

Tiny threads of Orange Thyme appeared yesterday....yes, I peer into the box every day eager for greenery and all that it portends.

So far none of the assorted basils are up yet, but I am excited. I still have a fair amount of BOOM left, but I like to have enough to share and it is  awful good stuff. For years I have dried herbs from the garden to make seasoning blends that suit our taste buds. Two years ago, entirely by accident I happened upon BOOM.

BOOM consists of Sweet Basil, Oregano, and Orange Mint. B-O-OM. We have a kind of feral Oregano/Marjoram stuff that grows free down along the driveway. When Grandma Peggy was still with us, she and I went out one day planting daffodils to naturalize and this herby stuff to see if it would grow. 

The daffs are mostly Ice Follies. They bloom and spread each year, especially on the edges of the spring-soggy ditches, reminding me of her and that day in such a sweet spring way. The Oregano thrives in big patches that smell like pizza when you pick it to dry, which I do most years. I have transplanted it up here by the house several times, but it always freezes out after a winter or two.

The difference in plant life and vitality as you get farther away from the river never fails to astonish me. Down in town I could winter mums for years and years, coaxing them into giant clumps that when properly pinched looked just like the little potted jobs in the store, only waist-high and covering whole beds with huge, round clumps of bloom. Up here...hah...a mile away, but up on the hill...the only ones that will winter are the Sheffields. Good thing I love them. I tried again this year, setting some purchased pots in the ground and covering them a bit, bit but I think the miserable March weather finished them off.

I grew Orange Mint for well over 30 years at several different houses, but a few years ago it faded and died, no matter what I did. It took us several years to get new plants, as it isn't easy to find, but at least last fall we had a big hearty patch. No telling if it is still surviving out there under the snow (which I pile on whenever i shovel, hoping to protect it from the iffy late winter weather).

Anyhow, last year I bought some Sweet Basil plants...lazy, lazy, lazy...and they didn't grow much, nor did they taste very good. So, no BOOM.

This year I bought the Pinetree basil seed assortment, some licorice Basil, and I don't remember what other kinds. Good thing I labeled everything when I planted. Hopefully all come along and I can pot them up and make some BOOM this summer. I don't try to actually grow basil in the ground up here because the weeds outcompete it no matter what I do. Big pots and buckets take care of that.

One thing that will enhance my summer project...Becky just bought a dehydrator. I hate to tell you how many times I warmed the oven to 200, put in some trays of greenery, then shut it off and left them drying, only to have someone else decide to bake biscuits and preheat it for their project. This will end that fun and games.

So, over the next few days some houseplant or project will have to move away from the windows to make room for the seed tray. My compulsion to  grow things has caused pineapple tops in pots, Elephant Ears as tall as I am, Norfolk Island Pines even taller, etc. etc. and they all love the windows.

 I also started some bright red geraniums in kitty litter bottles (cut a third off the long way, leaving a hinge at one end, which makes a handy little roofed tray). They are just getting true leaves now. If I can get them through without damping off and get them potted, hopefully they will bloom this summer. I have a few geraniums that I started down from seed when we lived in the village twenty-some years ago, but they are on their way out, getting weaker each year. It is hard to find the bright, cardinal red ones that I like and I only have one left. My last orange one, which has always stayed tiny, but prolific in blooms, nearly died of root rot this winter. It is repotted but struggling. We shall see. Geranium seed is expensive, hard to find, and not very easy to propagate, but once mature the plants seem stronger and much more beautifully colored than purchased plants.

And there you have it, some of what keeps me occupied while winter pounds us with storm after storm. Happy gardening everyone!

I also planted some of this