Thinking about and working in my garden is my therapy. It makes me a happier person. I feel productive, useful, focused, and that I contribute something to making the world a better, prettier place. The winter season is usually no exception…In Atlanta we can still garden. But this winter has been different. The frigid temperatures and seemingly non-stop rains have made it impossible to have a continuously functioning and producing garden. This has affected me. A lot! In the past few weeks I’ve found myself…down. Without my stand-by outlet to get outside and work in the soil I’m a little lost.
And, in spite of my resolution (again) to work out every day…Let’s face it, working out on a treadmill or an elliptical machine just isn’t the same as marching along with the bird chatter, sweating to the beat of yanking out heavy weeds laden with earth or digging a new bed to “heave ho”. When I’m working out I watch the clock. When I’m in my garden hours pass before I notice.
What I do enjoy about this time of year is spending any spare moment paging through the accumulating seed catalogs finding yummy, unique, interesting and promising vegetables and fruits to attempt to coax into thriving in my garden. The glossy photographs of beautiful plants with perfect fruit make me desperate to get dirty again! Having just placed my order for a large variety of seeds, I’m anxious to set up my grow lights and await the first emerging seedlings.
I know the days are getting longer again and before I know it I’ll be putting those seedlings into the soil and tending to their every need…Happily.
