It’s not springtime quite yet here in Texas, although if you follow me on the social medias you might be confused about that. It’s ‘false spring’ and it’s been warm enough that the soil temps are up to 55 and I’d started planting. Tonight there may be snow. I knew that was going to happen, honestly. I planned for it. Everything I’ve planted has been hardy stuff that likes it cool, so I must start it now or lose it to the heat in May. Planning a garden is a delicate balance of risks and rewards.
Trying to stay focused on more than one project at a time is a challenge for me. The garden is eating a lot of my time, energy, and mental space, which is impacting the writing. I’m writing every day, but not much. Which isn’t good for my plans there. On the other hand, the garden should, when it’s all set up, require less of my attention. I’m investing this year into a lot of stuff to make it easier, or automated, like the irrigation system I’ll be putting in next week. The idea is that putting a lot of time and money into it now will pay off later. Writing is… not like that.
There are some things I can do to catalyze my writing. One is what I’m doing right now, and that is writing something else entirely. Oddly enough, it’s one way to get the brain started is to make it to the thing you want by tricking it into thinking that’s not what you’re doing. I know, I know… but this is what works for me. May not for you! The beauty of being unique individuals is finding the many ways to write a story.
As I’ve been planning the garden, which will in a few years consume every part of our small lot, I’ve been thinking about the why of it all. Much like my writing, I do it because I can’t not garden. Even when we lived in the apartment for a year, I had a garden on the balcony and houseplants inside. I write because I have to write it down, or the inside of me isn’t a happy place. Gardening and writing, both feed something in my soul. The ultimate plan for my gardens isn’t to feed my family, although I may do that as well. It’s a lifelong art installation, a feast for all the senses. I’ll never be done working on it, and every spring I’ll get spring fever and plunge into the seed starting and working the ground. Getting my hands dirty.
Writing is much less seasonal, I think, although perforce winter brings more indoor time to write in. Although here in Texas, the height of summer when it’s triple digits outside and everything is dormant and brown, that may also be a writing season for me now. When the garden sleeps, the wordcount leaps.
While I love the idea of one day sitting in my secret garden, hidden by the hedgerows of flowers and berry bushes, to write, I am also aware that this isn’t likely. I’ll sit, see something out of place, leap up with secaturs in hand, or do battle with weeds… the garden is an active space for me, but there are chores that allow my mind to daydream as I work, then hurry inside to write down the bits of story I’ve just grown.
Mad Genius Club 
26 responses to “Spring Fever”
Gardening is art in four dimensions. Few works of art include time as an element.
I garden and weed (and sew!) because it empties my head of thoughts giving my mind a rest OR it allows me to think casually about what I’m writing.
I’d love to do bonsai, art with trees, but not in Texas heat.
Having admired the immense array of bonsai at Longwood Gardens (Kennett Square in PA), I can say that bonsai is a larger field than you’d think.
I don’t see why you couldn’t bonsai a native Texas shrub or tree. They can be root-pruned and trimmed and trained to grow in a small, flat saucer.
Life will find a way.
oh, no, it’s not that. Bonsai has to be watered constantly and consistently. I don’t have the time! They are more needy than a cat (looks at Toast curled up napping) although they can’t nag you about their watering and feeding needs.
Ah! That pesky time management issue.
“They are more needy than a cat (looks at Toast”
Toast looks back: “Challenge accepted, hooman.” 😎
Small gardens it’s really important to have flowers that bloom for a long time. Even when mixed together, short bloomers result patches of flowers among expanses of green
Not that you don’t have to copy with patches at any time. No flower blooms from early spring to late fall, though some from early summer to late fall. Staggering spring and summer plants is important.
Unless you go gangbusters for one season and let it just be green for the rest.
I use a wide variety of bulbs interplanted with my hostas. Hostas are almost like flowers themselves if you go for the wild, big leafed varieties instead of plain old green.
Lungwort and coral bells are nice because while they bloom briefly however beautifully, their leaves are also wonderful.
In fact, my first coral bells I bought for the leaves, unaware that they would bloom.
And planning for foliage, and bark interest in winter, are part of a good garden designer’s repertoire as well.
My garden goes for a dried flower arrangement type in winter.
I’m in zone 10, but with ~800 chill hours, so we can grow a huge variety of plants. I miss the old place with a big yard, but it was a rental so I couldn’t add more trees myself. My current home has no yard at all, so I’m growing potted trees at work (hopefully new boss will be OK with them).
The stores think it’s planting time, too, e.g. Costco is starting to stock nursery trees.
I enjoy talking with the farmers at our local farmers’ market about what grows and doesn’t, how to grow, and what varieties taste best. So far I’ve been doing OK at keeping stuff alive, and I’m learning a lot of patience (we’ll see how many years it takes for my finger lime to produce fruit, etc.).
Here’s hoping the boss is ok with trees! I have a couple of citrus in pots, but can’t really do many more for lack of space inside good shelter, and no space for a greenhouse.
Here in the Peeple’s Republik of Canuckistan, it is 60F on my front porch right now. No snow anywhere. This being February 10th, normally it would be 0F or less, and there’d be a foot or two of glowball warming all over everything.
Gardening is not my thing, but I just received my new electric kick scooter so I am taking the distaff side and going down to the river to take it for a boot. And the sun is even out!
I’ve decided e-scooter is less undignified than the full-on disability scooter, and more fun to toot around on. I shall report on results, as I know a few of us here are getting kinda crunchy in the lower extremities.
I wore sandals for the first time this year. Must be the classic New England February Thaw.
I remember those! And then… mud season.
scooters sound fun, to be honest.
What a hoot! We went down to the Grand River walking/biking path where I went for a rip, while the distaff side clumped around. For some reason she wore her snow boots… ~:D
I’m a big guy, 6ft 250lbs, and this little thing still climbs hills and hauls along at 32kph, that’s 20mph. Which doesn’t sound like much, but it is pretty damn fast on a goofy little kick scooter. Put a smile on my face, I’ll tell you that.
Since my knee ligament deteriorated I’ve not been active enough. When you can’t walk from the car to the Wallymart some days, it isn’t fun. But now, I can -scooter- from the car, throw the scooter in the shopping cart, and limp around the store before the knee packs up. Sweet! ~:D
Not for everyone, distaff side nearly crashed at 3mph. Snow boots were blamed.
I have knee issues, especially in my right knee which I injured when I was 20. I thought I made a full recovery. I’m 64 and beginning in my 50’s, the knee pain roared back.
Knee braces (moderate support with metal boning from CVS) saved my knees. With my knee braces on, I can walk and exercise easily.
The key seems to be finding the braces that work for you. There must be hundreds of styles, from elastic sleeves which don’t stay up under your pants to full-on exoskeleton types.
If you haven’t tried knee braces, you may be pleasantly surprised! Buying a pair at the drug store doesn’t support a doctor’s office so you may not hear much about them during an exam.
But if they work for you, you’ve regained mobility without drugs or surgery.
Sounds fun!
Time to see if I have any crocuses or dwarf irises still growing.
The bulbs started sending up shoots last week. The Bradford pears and roses have swelling flower and leaf buds. They are foolish in the extreme. We will be 20 F on Sunday night/Monday morning, and the last freeze isn’t until April 30. (Note, I’m almost 2000 feet higher than Cedar, and a little drier.)
We were supposed to get snow last night, and didn’t. But I still think it will happen this winter.
I’m in Kansas.
Saw a robin yesterday.
Poor deluded thing. I feel so sorry for it.
Heh – I used to see them fairly early in OH too. Here, I’ve had them in the yard all winter. It’s weird.
Local news had a bird guy on pointing out that with the fairly warm winter up until the polar vortex hit, and no snow, and people feeding the birds all winter, and lots of shelter for during the polar vortex- we have robins that winter over in Iowa every year.
We’re noticing them NOW because they hid from the polar vortex for three weeks and are hungry!