February Gardening

This is the veggie garden in winter ...a p-i-t-i-f-u-l sight, isn't it? the fencing went in last spring in a hurried attempt to cordon the area off from the FBDs...bassets don't go around plants...they go through plants...it is, I believe, one of the greatest pleasures they have...anyhoo, I had visions of a lovely white picket fence with squared columns with flat tops where I would artistically perch beautiful terracotta pots overflowing with big blowzy blooms...

This is why in February most of my garden attention is centered around my ever-expanding collection of garden books...

This is a darling gardening book by Celestine Sibley...Celestine was a writer for the AJC and the author of many books...I recall she passed away a while back...at that point, I didn't really know much about her writings...but now that I've become better acquainted with Miss Celestine and her garden, I wish I had caught her columns and, better yet, been her neighbor so we could talk "garden"...

Where we live now, having been here a year, I have yet to find someone with whom to Talk Garden...in our last home, I had a lovely neighbor who has become a dear friend with whom to speak in the Garden Lingo...we would stop whatever we were doing when called to come *see this plant*...and both of us would wander through the other's garden just to enjoy the pleasures of a garden that we didn't have to sweat blood over...a Garden Talk buddy is someone who can point out the beauty of something within your own garden that you cannot see clearly for all the hard work that has gone into producing what is far and away not what you had pictured in your mind's eye...

but Mr G seems to be comin' on as someone with whom I can Talk Garden...so all is not lost...

Anyhoo...when I read a book of garden essays...and don't believe the author is an out-and-out liar...I only say that because an envious vein runs wide and deep through my heart...I can see past the haggard looking mess that empty vegetable garden is and see what it has the potential to become...with lots of hard work, some serendipitous intervention from Mother Nature and a willingness to see one's garden plans as only the starting point for the actual garden that is to come...