The Green of Spring

Look closely. If you pull the leaves back you can see the first rhubarb of the season. It's spring.

It's amazing what these first signs of spring generate. All of a sudden I want to open the seed catalog and order new perrenials and vegetables. We've been in Georgia for two growing seasons now and I'm beginning to understand what plants need to survive and thrive. I've learned to love succulents. They grow thick and lush even in the heat of summer. I know that many of my favorites from Indiana like the soil and climate here, as well. My garden phlox was beautiful last year, as was all of my bee balm. Of course, lantana is the pride of Georgia and grows the size of a wheelbarrow. My moonbeam coreopsis bloomed for almost three months and this year I'm going to add some other coreopsis and see how they do. I've started some creeping fig on our banks, but want to add more of that and new groundcovers. Variegated periwinkle will always be one of my favorites. It's aggressive and its purple flowers are showy. Of course, I'll visit the local nurseries and browse and watch and finally add 2-3 new plants that I hope will add a splash of energy to the tried and true.

This year my husband and I hope to build three large raised beds for the vegetables. Some did just great in the garden last year, but the
tomatoes struggled against a form of fungus that attacked the roots. We've been reading and talking with other southern gardeners and are ready to take precautions so that doesn't happen again. We'll plant our favorites - greens (including arugula), onions, a variety of peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans and broccoli. However, we're also going to try our luck with amaranth, an assortment of other beans and garlic.

I guess that's the lure of gardening. Besides being able to raise food that's fresh, healthy and delicious, gardeners are renewed by greeting old friends when they sprout and green. With the plants, we start again, too. We dig iinto the earth with energy and faith in the process. We study and plan and, with the best of intentions, we sow seeds, plant seedlings and wait. It's just like writing. With each new idea, we think and plan, research and review. But at some point, we just need to jump into the writing with faith in ourselves and what we have to say. That must be why I'm always more excited about writing in the spring than any other season. That one little rhubarb shoot reminds me that if I'm patient with the process and wait for the elements to come together, my writing will surprise me for yet another season.

Happy Gardening (and Writing) to You All!