Arise, Ye Little Shoots
What is it about growing and cultivating plants that gets our rocks off so much? I mean, really. There’s growing things all around us, but we humans take special interest in choosing certain plants to tend to and coddle and cause to yield. At least for the United States and other first-world countries, the need to grow our own plants doesn’t really extend to a matter of survival (farmers excepted), but yet we spend gazoogles of money each spring on “garden supplies” which range anywhere from a new hoe to some funky new poisonous chemical to rid our blossoming patch of an unwanted critter, insect, bacteria, fungus, bird, rodent, snail, cat, dog, or sneaky neighbor.
Alas, I, too, fall under this spell each year and succumb to the calling of the “Garden Centre” at our local SomethingMart to browse amongst the aisles of green, my fingers lightly brushing the fronds like a delicate lover, seeking the best seeds and plants to garnish my little plot of dirt this year. Everyone dreams big in the Spring; it can be worse than wedding design.
I think there’s some sort of ego boost that we get when we make something grow, even though it has very little to do with us whatsoever, but it’s the concept that we started something and made it come alive — that’s a rush. It’s almost a god-like feeling when you take a little something very dead looking, drop it into the ground where most things rot, and in a few days to a week something sprouts forth and reaches upwards to catch the sun. That, in and of itself, is extremely cool.
So far, I’ve only partially exercised my abilities as Initiator, since we haven’t yet made our comprehensive garden supply run as of yet. However, I have managed to plant a big block of red sweet corn (yes, red — almost a burgandy) and sowed the wildflowers in the front flower beds, so that’s done. I also went and spread $15 worth of grass seed on the lawn so that I can spend the rest of the summer removing grass from the garden. (We’re funny creatures, aren’t we?)
Also, I found a few cute planting pot kits at Target and Wal*Mart so I picked those up for a buck or two
apiece and followed the directions to wet the soil and plant the seeds (I know, a man reading directions? Who would have thought?) and the radishes are up already.
Yes, I used a kitchen bowl and serving spoon to mix up the soil — Rachel Ray, eat your heart out.
Cute little bastards, aren’t they? We have radishes, basil, oregano, chives, and cherry tomatoes, I think.
I was so disappointed — strawberries in a pot, who could want for more? Just have them all year round! Until I read on the directions that the pots are only temporary holding devices for the plants. Well….phooey. I was kinda looking forward to Christmas strawberry shortcake.
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