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January 20, 2007
Gardener's Block
Master Gardener Column 1/20/07
The last time I tried to garden was so painful, I had to put down my trowel and go inside. That was on September 19th - a warm, sunny late-summer’s day in Virginia. My mom had died the day before. My sister and her husband and I were staying with my dad, and decided that the best thing we could do for him on that day was to clean up my mom’s garden and plant some containers full of cheerful mums and violas, to make the garden look the way she would have kept it. But I just couldn’t do it. I haven’t been drawn to the garden since that day. My mom taught me to garden, introduced me to all her favorite plants, indoctrinated me into her secret ritual of making each plant feel at home, and shared her joy in each perfect leaf and flower. Now that she was gone, her voice was silent, and the garden was empty.
And so the last few months have slipped by and I haven’t done any gardening to speak of. Fortunately, my garden has been mostly dormant and I don’t think it has suffered from nearly 4 months of neglect. I haven’t had any desire to read about gardening, to visit gardens, or to write gardening articles.
But a few days ago I realized that the days are getting longer. The shortest day of the year was on December 22. Already since then we have gained almost 10 minutes of daylight. By the end of January, we will have gained a full 40 minutes. Even though, here in Flagstaff, we still have long months of winter ahead, this lengthening of the day shows that spring is coming. Inexorably, as the Earth rushes around its orbit, the northern hemisphere is slowly swinging around to lean in towards the Sun.
In another few weeks, as the hours of daylight increase, the plant communities of Flagstaff will begin to respond. Early blooming bulbs will break dormancy and start sending flower stalks toward the surface. Leaf buds on trees and shrubs will start to swell, slowly at first and then all in a rush, as if they knew there was no time to waste in our short growing season. As the winter snows melt and soak into the ground, all kinds of beneficial fauna (microbes, bugs, worms, etc.) will begin to stir. And in the mailboxes of gardeners all over Flagstaff, seed catalogs will begin piling up, filled with pictures of the latest hardy roses, most desirable native shrubs, and fascinating heirloom vegetables that deserve a place of honor in our gardens. I can almost hear my mom saying, “We’d better get some seeds started. It won’t be long now.”
Like a dormant bulb that’s felt the first stirrings of the coming spring and has started reaching out roots and stems for warmth and moisture that are sure to come, I find my gardening instincts coming back to life. It’s time to clean up my seed starting trays, buy some fresh soil, get new bulbs for my grow light, and pore over those seed catalogs. My mom’s voice is silent now, but her gardening spirit lives on, and we’ve got a lot to do!
By Alice Monet
The author is a Master Gardener volunteer for Coconino County Cooperative Extension. For more information about the Master Gardener Program, call 774-1868 ext. 17 or visit our Web site: highelevationgardening.arizona.edu.
Posted by maxmaddy at January 20, 2007 5:50 AM