Sunday, March 13, 2011

First Planting of the Season

Oh it's finally here! The glorious day I dug holes and filled them with lovely things with roots!

I love each and every season, but the drabness of winter got old, quick.

This year we did have a lovely snow storm, and the snow was absolutely beautiful for a few days. Unfortunately, it did not last long.

The snow became dirty from sand or mud, and the beauty was tarnished. The snow melted, uncovering dull yards and dreary fields of brown grass. The countryside was full of sleeping trees and colorless landscapes.

During the cold winter, my main hobby is knitting or crocheting. The yarn satisfies my need for color, and it's therapeutic to me because wool feels wonderful to work with. But I also spend time perusing seed catalogs, thinking of what I want most to plant in my small garden plot, and itching to dig in some dirt.

Thankfully we did have warm spells with lots of sunshine before the biggest snow storm. I took advantage of these days and recruited hubby to turn compost into the soil. I didn't dare plant anything yet because I hadn't yet made a cold frame to help the soil warm early.

But now the natural world is starting to wake up. Pear trees are adorned with an abundance of white blooms. Red Clover is dotting the hillsides with splashes of color. Tulips are beginning to push through the crust of earth. And Daffodils are brightening spring flower plots with color of sunshine.

The spring I have been craving for is finally here!

Today I bought new Strawberry plants, onion sets, and garlic. I also bought seeds for flowers and some vegetables. I spent this afternoon happily turning the soil one more time, dividing up one plot, and planting. And when the rain showers began, I came inside to plant veggie seeds for seedlings.

It was a wonderful day when my dreaming, wishing, and planning could be put into action. Now I am looking forward to planting more, and reaping the rewards in the late Spring and Summer!

What do you look forward to with the coming Spring weather?

New Strawberry Plants

Companion planting onions among strawberries

Starting Tomato, Cucumber, and Pepper Seedlings

2 comments:

Dawn said...

I'm really hoping to do a small garde this year. Waiting to see if my husband gets a job here locally or if we'll have to move to OKC. I hope we find out soon so I can get busy on the garden. I don't want to wait too late.

What is the theory with planting onions among the strawberries? I'm curious. =)

Dawn

AngieDSimplyMe said...

Hi Dawn! Thanks for commenting!

Even if you can't start digging in the dirt just yet, you can try container plants such as herbs or strawberries. There are a lot of plants that can be grown in containers.

There really is no theory with the onions and strawberries. Onions help to keep insects away, and they really don't take up much space, so they can be planted in the space between the strawberries.

As long as you are diligent to water the plants as needed, there won't be much competition for root space, and the plants will do just fine.

I thin the onions through the growing season by simply pulling them up as I need them, so they won't all be there the entire duration.

Hope that helps. :)