A new year of growing is on its way!

Hello! I hope you are staying warm and enjoying the snow. Hopefully Santa brought you a little something to make your garden greener in the new year! Today we've experienced our first big thaw after a perfectly picturesque Christmas snow, and my faith is renewed that Spring will come again!

I'm enjoying resting up during this garden down time, but it really is almost time to get the plans flowing for the next growing season! Mike has been getting new seed catalogs in the mail, and he's already picking out his new favorite varieties. I'm also looking forward to being a little more involved in the vegetable planning this year. We had a great year of hot peppers, but I'm very much looking forward to convincing him to let me grow snap peas, lettuce, and zucchinis! I'm also thinking about increasing our herb production, and maybe finally getting a nice plot of herbs just for making tea!

As soon as I get a little more time off work, I'll start perusing the catalogs myself to make some plans for the flowers. Burpee has an exciting new zinnia variety called Queen Red Lime. Check it out-- it's beautiful!:

For now, here's a few pictures from last year to remind you that Spring flowers really do exist. Perhaps I should go get the rest of my Fall bulbs planted now that the snow is melting away? Flower gardens are like Christmas light displays; you just keep wanting to make them bigger and better every year!

First Snowflakes of the Season!

Today marks the first snowfall this winter.


It did leave a light dusting of snowflakes on the ground, making it feel even more like Christmastime! I've left the stems and crunchy leaves from most of my beautiful plants in the ground. I think it makes a statement: this is not just a dead patch of wintry ground, this is a beautiful garden that is sleeping. And the architectural interest of the stems most definitely beats plain old snow drifts.


I also enjoy those super hardy, stubborn plants that stay green and even try to bloom in freezing weather. It's always inspiring to look out in the middle of December and see some fleshy green Kale or a pansy blossom that refuses to stop just because it's the dormant season!


We've even had a radish here or there, and had a salad of freshly picked Spinach just about a week ago now. But-- as soon as I get the rest of the bulbs in the ground (oops! procrastinated on that one again!)-- I'm pretty sure the gardening will have to come indoors. I already have a beautiful poinsettia, and the other indoor plants will probably be getting a little more attention, too.

And Mike has found a new gardening pursuit to focus his energy on: Aquaponics.


Aquaponics is the growing of crops in water utilizing the waste from aquatic animals as fertilizer. Apparently it's the only form of hydroponics (aqueous vegetable farming) that can be done organically. Typically the water from a fish tank is circulated into a tank where vegetables are growing in nothing but nutrient-filled water for soil. And the yield is supposed to be great.

Above, you see Mike's first aquaponic experiment: radishes and lettuce grown in the turtle tank, with the turtle pictured above as well. No, we won't eat these-- I'm sure we'd get a great case of Salmonella if we did! But he assures me that it can be done safely, and is not at all as disgusting as it sounds, growing your food in fish excrement. Delish.

So if you haven't brought in your glass patio table or unscrewed your hose from the faucet, it's time, because winter is here!