Written by: Patricia O’Brien, CMG 2018
“Dark and Cold” is one of my friend’s most constant laments for this time of year that is often followed by mourning the loss of the sun she is sure we will never see again. As gardeners, we understand that there is a lot going on underground during the winter that promotes our showy shrub and perennial beauty in the months to come. According to researchers at the University of Washington, plants follow a circadian clock to know when to flower, and thus, reproduce based on the availability of growing sunlight (https://www.washington.edu/news/2012/05/25/its-in-the-genes-research-pinpoints-how-plants-know-when-to-flower/).
That’s good news for the continuation of our gardens when the weather is warm but how do we muster the energy to enjoy the resting time of winter in the meantime? You’ll find some suggestions ahead about planning for next year’s garden that will remind you of the tasks that you can manage now that will help you be prepared for producing a better garden in 2024, whatever that means to you. My “not in love with winter” gardening friend reminds me that this is a good time for review; thinking about what worked and did not work in her journey from seed to harvest. What does she want more of next year? What does she need to prune?
Me, I love the long, slower days for catching up on reading. And there are many good choices in the gardening section to explore. New titles that have caught my eye include Grow or Die: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening by David the Good. See also Wild Edible Plants of Colorado, a beautifully illustrated manual by Charles W. Kane that describes foraging, preparing, and preserving 58 edible plants, from Amaranth to Yucca that show up in our bountiful state. There is also the perennial Old Farmer’s 2024 Almanac founded in 1792 promising monthly astrological charts for planting, monthly calendars, and “a variety of new, useful, and entertaining matter.” Who can resist when it costs only $10 including tax!
I have some other gardening nuggets on my bookshelf that I return to for inspiration. These accounts include What Happens in my Garden? a collection of essays by Louise Beebe Wilder who talks about the delight of the undisciplined and democratic rock garden. Another book I return to is Growing Pains: Time and Change in the Garden that provides empathy alongside good information for dealing with the many trials and tribulations of life and death in the garden. Finally, in a spiritual vein, growing myself: a spiritual journey through gardening by Judith Handelsman describes a gardener who celebrates the miracle of growing as an internal process of using all of one’s senses. Any of these books may shine a light in these darker times until we once again can dig in our gardens with joy.