A "Fairweather" Gardener

 I have a problem. I admit it...every winter I come down with this winter split personality.  I call it my "Seasonal gardening disorder".  It has many symptoms that you may identify with like the inability to get yourself outdoors to do anything!  I find when the temperature goes below 50 degrees my love of being outdoors wanes. I can't seem to motivate myself to go outside at all!   No"walks through the garden", no weeding, cutting back, redoing beds or mulching. All those beautiful autumn day ambitions when I say, "This winter I am going to do ______"... Gone!

Another well known symptom is "gardeners guilt".  It presents with the notorious thoughts that have the word "should" in it. For example, you may have caught yourself saying,  "I should go out and prune those or I should finish that bed".  During these times and hours of self examination, I ask myself the hard questions...Have I lost my love of gardening?  This disorder takes over and I just stay inside and hope everything lives without my careful attention.

But then, like a fresh tender green sprout coming out of the cold dark ground,  I was awakened this weekend to a beautiful Saturday morning with temperatures soaring in the 70's.  I sprung out of bed and felt the warm sun through the window and felt a warm wave pass over me. All I wanted to do is go outside and stay there all day! There is hope...the disorder is seasonal and the spring gardener had returned! I was walking through the garden, redesigning beds in my head, taking pictures. I saw new blooms (oddly enough which must have been there last week? ha ha). Nevertheless, here are some things growing and blooming in the greenhouse.

tomatoes that overwintered

impatience that I tucked beneath the basil

a delicious ripe meyer lemon

key lime tree blooming

 

brussel sprouts that survived the temps in the teens

kale

The most fascinating thing I saw and learned, however, was about the newest bloom I spotted. There in the corner of my greenhouse out of a boring cactus was the most strange hint of color...it looked like it came right out of an alien movie.  This cactus which started out as one paddle stuck in the dirt was a pass-a-long plant from a beautiful cactus that was removed when my father-in-law who bought their house needed to remove the mother plant to renovate. This one paddle of the cactus had grown to about 4 ft and many paddles over the past few years. It has been so quiet sitting in the corner not saying much, never demanding anything from me. In fact, I would say I ignored it much like my entire garden with my seasonal gardening disorder.  However, it did not sulk, or wither, it greeted me today with this amazing little bloom. This is my kind of plant! Almost every plant in my garden has a name (at least a tag and I know the variety, etc) but this little guy, being a pass-a-long, was untagged with no knowledge of its variety, etc. I rushed in and looked it up and found out it is a spineless variety of prickly pear cactus or Opuntia cochenillifera. This cactus has quite a cold tolerance and has some interesting features.  Its paddle like leaves warm up in the sun and is sometimes called "warm hand cactus".  It is edible and is used medicinally in other countries. It is also used to make a liquor in the Caribbean.  So, I guess you do learn something new everyday! 

Another reason to love gardening. It is a ever changing and fascinating hobby that offers glimpses of the unusual and miraculous everytime you adventure into its environment.  It draws me out of my seasonal disorder and doesn't even hold a grudge!

Happy Gardening!

Nicki