By Cyndi Pratt
'Tis the season... to plan your garden. A number of years ago, I clipped a newspaper cartoon that depicted a man running into his house with his hands full of mail. The word balloon above his head contained his comments: “They’re here! They’re here! The seed catalogs are here!”
He had the biggest grin on his face and I totally related to his enthusiasm. The only thing about mid-winter I liked was the fact that I could depend on the garden catalogs arriving.
I would take a month or so to devour them, make my lists and plan my planting arrangements. Then, I placed my orders, got my seed starting lights, flats, and pots prepared and waited impatiently for the mailman to bring my seed orders.
In those catalogs I discovered heirloom tomatoes like Cherokee Purple and unusual ones like Pink Ponderosa. I tried spaghetti and button squash and bush zucchini and cucumbers. I grew many different kinds of vegetables and flowers. I even started gloxinia and African violets from seed.
I loved playing in the dirt, and I still do, although it is much harder to get down on my knees to dig in the earth these days and even harder to get back up again.
I still love to browse seed catalogs and with all the garden sections at lumber yards, discount stores and even at grocery and hardware stores it is so easy to find favorite and popular veggies and flowers to plant. Plus, the hardest part of getting the seeds started is already done. We just need to plan our garden space, get the soil ready and put the plants into the ground.
Of course, if one wants heirloom or unusual plants, we still have to rely on mail order. I’ve only seen Cherokee Purple tomato plants at one area garden section.
Now, if I could just get a hydraulic system for my knees so I could kneel and stand with ease I’d have it made.
n Cyndi Pratt is the circulation bookkeeper at the Washington Times Herald and is looking forward to spring and has been since October. She is starting to plan her garden spaces and will be visiting local and area garden centers as soon as the soil warms.
