The first day of spring | The first spring day

The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another.  The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.
                                                                                                        ~Henry Van Dyke

So true. During the past few weeks in Vancouver we've enjoyed some pleasant pre-spring weather as well as a few, unwelcome reappearances of winter -- including snow this past Monday!

But yesterday, the March equinox, late afternoon sunshine, and daffodils, cherry blossoms and violas combined to make the day ...well, truly vernal. Oh, and after work I opened the mailbox at home to find this pretty envelope from a gardening friend.

Before I opened the envelope (oh, so carefully) I had to admire it for a few moments. The design reminded me of the covers of heirloom seed catalogues I'd picked up at Seedy Saturday this past February.

Inside the envelope, a sweet card & carefully packaged, extra-special seeds -- eggplant, basil & lettuce -- from Master Gardener Meighan. Thank you!

bonus in UPPERCASE #12

LETTERPRESSED

TOUCHED & ADORED

& yes, soon to be GROWN & ENJOYED.

Thank you, Janine & Porridge Papers for this marvelous plantable seedpaper.

Mid-Winter Gardening Stars in my Google Reader

 

Image Credit: Tenderheart by Astrid Photography.

 

Phew. I just caught myself in time. I was about to call this post "January Round-up" but then recalled my strict policy against using this chemical and don't want to give it any unintentional endorsement.

My favourite gardening and green living web sites are starting to publish tips, finds and new ideas for the coming growing season and so before I lose track of them, I'm going to process all those posts I've  recently starred. Here's the first batch:

Composting -- Composting basics: compost without a yard
Containers -- Self-watering
Inspiration  -- Grow where you are planted, Plan a garden
Seed-starting -- Make your own pots (I've been saving toilet paper rolls for the past few months), Gayla's Downloadable Seed Starting Plan, Lazy Gardener's Chart, West Coast Seeds' new site.
Veggie-Crafts -- Knit your vegetables

Super secret seed stash

A few weeks ago when I was rearranging space to store seasonal stuff (a frequently-repeated task when you  live in a small apartment with no storage), at the back corner of the top shelf of a hard-to-reach, seldom-used kitchen cupboard (there are too many of these when you are less than 5 feet 4 inches tall), behind the electric fan, flashlight, old batteries, plumb line and wallpaper roller, I found this tin, which I was sure contained an assortment of kitchen hardware:

To my surprise (which later turned to a bit of worry about my memory lapse) I opened it to find this: 

 

A collection of seed packets,  evidence of annual Spring Garden Fever going back to 1995.

So why blog about this. For a few reasons:

(1) This year, I MUST schedule sowing dates on the calendar.  And then NOT PROCRASTINATE. I confess many of these packages were never opened. I'm in strong favour of being more spontaneous and living in the moment -- but  a bit more discipline and time-sensitivity is necessary when you're growing a garden.
(2) Just like judging a book by its cover, I know I bought a few varieties because of the pretty pictures on the packages. Through experiences (ie., poor germination) I've learned the ones that come in the plain brown wrapper (West Coast Seeds ) are the best.
(3) I'm a pretty ruthless declutterer but  I will always find a box, drawer or scrapbook for used seed packages -- for purely sentimental reasons. As I sorted through the tin's contents, I recalled sowing perennials and herbs the first summer my parents lived in their Labelle Avenue home. My mom told my proudly she had done some weeding -- and to my horror I realized she had removed all the Aquileglia (Columbine) I had just planted.
(4) On a more serious note, I hope that twenty years from now, we will still live in a climate that will allow us to grow such a diverse variety of plants. Thinking about this strengthens my resolve to grow a low-impact garden,  even if I have to forego my favourite plants. (This will be very hard.)