Midwinter Garden Dreams

There’s no better way to spend a blustery winter afternoon than perusing the latest garden and seed catalogs. Just the sight of all those pretty posies is enough to lift anyone’s spirits. Our gardening friends tell us this is one of their favorite times of year—they’re not in the garden, but dreaming about what glories they’ll create once spring rolls around. Whether you’re an experienced cultivator with a fertile flair or a gardener wanna be, here are some inviting resources to explore as the winds howl and the fire crackles.

A Garden is as Diverse as You Are

What strikes your fancy this year? To improve upon last year’s garden or try something new? A visit to www.springhillnursery.com can inspire you to expand your horizons. Spring Hill offers step-by-step garden plans, complete with layout ideas and planting instructions. You can even purchase pre-packaged gardens. Here are some of our favorites:

• Create a wildlife habitat with a Butterfly/Hummingbird Garden
• An Easy-Care Sun Garden
• Three Season Complete Garden
• Mailbox Garden

If you’re a newbie to gardening and feeling a bit insecure, this can be an excellent resource for getting your hands dirty in a fun and adventurous way.

A Garden for Everyday Life

Have you ever considered a herbal tea garden or a healing herb garden in your backyard? www.gardenguides.com/herbs/herb.htm offers insightful information on how we can use herbs beyond the kitchen or for food preparation. You can subscribe to two newsletters, “Chamomile Times” and “Herbal News” to learn more about recipes, medicinals, crafts and ways to use herbs in your everyday life. The site offers a comprehensive herb library. You’ll discover not only all the facts about a given herb, but the folklore associated with it and its medicinal uses.

Growing for a Change

One of the companies we most admire who is advancing the cause of organic gardening is Seeds of Change. They cultivate hundreds of open-pollinated, organically grown, heirloom and traditional vegetable, flower and herb seeds. All seeds are 100% organic. One trip through their delightful catalog is enough to make your mind whirl with possibilities. Seed collections are offered as well as a bulk seed program. There’s so many combinations to capture one’s imagination here, from an Earth Day Seed Collection to a Children’s Animal Collection to a Mother’s Day Flower Seed Collection. The possibilities are endless!

Visit their website, www.seedsofchange.com, and sign up for their newsletter, “The Cutting Edge,” search a comprehensive recipe library, discover unique gifts for the gardener and more. We took a fancy to the GardenCycle Day Planner Book, a fun way to journal your garden’s life journey, complete with vibrant photographs. Seeds of Change is the same company which has a grocery store line of organic products as well.

Garden Growing Pains

When those pesky critters or decimating diseases come to call, there’s wholesome help at hand via www.gardensolutions.com. Gardens Alive is a supplier of environmentally friendly products for the lawn, garden and orchard. Their site features a comprehensive pest and disease library which can alleviate your worries about plant or flower loss, complete with earth friendly answers. Save 10% on everything you buy when you join their Organic Garden Club.

More Catalogs Than You Ever Dreamed Of

A visit to this site (www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1999/12-10-1999/seedcatalogs.html) will fill your mailbox to overflowing with garden, seed and bulb catalogs, more than you can probably read in a winter. But, what fun to dream about those warm days ahead. Soon we’ll be surrounded by brilliant colors and delicious scents, on our knees in the dirt, communing with Mother Earth once again.