I have a bad, bad case of garden deprivation.
Sure, I could go outside and do some cleaning, clearing and general tidying–not to mention some overdue leaf raking. But, heck. It’s 20 degrees outside! And I’m a wimp! I’d rather stay inside and play with my houseplants. Even when I’m outside with my little extortionist, I can hardly move from one spot.
I am having some green satisfaction. My seed orders are coming in. I managed to get the boards cut for my indoor lettuce boxes like those featured in the February/March issue of Organic Gardening magazine. I have a big Excel file going with a month-by-month, blow-by-blow “to do” list of all the things I need to remember to do in the garden. I have roped my husband into working on the logiics of the chicken coop Taj Mahal we’re building. And I’m also planning some early spring fieldtrips to get even more ideas.
One of my Phalaenopsis orchids. I wish they all looked this good right now!
The U.S. Botanic Garden is hosting the annual Orchid Show February 2 through April 13. This year’s theme is “An Alphabet Garden of Orchids” with–you guessed it–26 displays of several hundred orchids. This would be a wonderful day trip if only they had a tea room or sandwich shop. As it is, there’s nowhere convenient to eat and parking is horrid. I plan to park and lunch at Union Station and take a cab to and fro. If you’re in the D.C. area and want to get together for the event, let me know! We’ll do a blogger’s lunch and enjoy the rainforest and orchids. I can smell the soil and fresh plants now!
In March I’m heading to Philadelphia for the Philadelphia Flower Show, arguably the biggest and best flower show in the U.S. James Dodson wrote about the show and the obsessed gardeners who participate in Beautiful Madness. I plan to head up for a couple of days to tour and sit in on some of the workshops before the men in my life join me for a college visit to Villanova and some general R&R. Who’s going? Raise your hand!
So tell me, what are you doing to get your garden fix when it’s cold outside?
Hi! I'm Robin Ripley author of Wisdom for Home Preservers, published by Taunton Press. I am also co-author of Grocery Gardening. Bumblebee is about my life in rural Maryland, my garden and my love of food, my little dogs and pet chickens. You can follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook. Thank you for visiting!
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Hi Robin,
I have growing plants indoors as a child, whether it was in the busy city of Mumbai ten years ago or New York now. I love plants and I cant get enough of it. So while it is cold outdoors, I am enjoying my plants indoors. I am growing gardenia’s (had my first bloom last week), jasmine, basil and rosemary. My new samplings are on their way and should be here.
I was very thrilled reading about the upcoming flower shows, will try to come to Washington for this on a weekend.
Regards
Eva S.
Dang, I have no plans to go to the east coast so I’ll miss a meet up with you. And, by the way, the thought of you having an Excel spreadsheet ‘project plan’ for your gardening this spring makes me feel very behind and very ‘seat of the pants’!
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
Hi Eva,
Maybe I’ll run into you. You can recognize me because I’ll be carrying a rose in my mouth.
Carol – I don’t actually believe it’s possible for you to be "seat of the pants." You’re the one who has a spreadsheet of seeds, right?!?!
–Robin (Bumblebee)
Aw come on Robin, that’s 20 degrees above zero, isn’t it?? (just teasin’ you!)
I’ve still got a couple months to continue "thinking" about a garden or even starting seeds, I think. In the meantime, I’ll be reading gardening blogs (like yours) for inspiration and ideas till April rolls around and I can get out and start grubbing in the dirt again.
I hear you on garden deprivation! It’s only bad for me on days like today, when it’s raining/snowing/blowing ugly out. Yesterday, the sun was out, the wind was still, there were lots of birds around and I meandered around the yard looking at things, including the promise of flowers to come. Today, yuck. I’m going to read blogs all afternoon instead of working, to get my ‘flower fix’
I know just what you mean, Robin. I’m getting itchy fingers right about now. It’s a couple of months, though, before I can even think about gardening outside, and even then it will only be in the thinking stages. 🙁