I'm bummed out today

My growing days are officially over for this year. I walked around my yard today, and everything is black and dying. It froze hard enough last night to put a 1/2 inch layer of ice on my water garden. This is the first year I have really gotten into gardening, and it was so sad to go out and look today. So, today I'm just sitting around wondering what I am going to do in the 8 long months until spring comes again. I knew this day would come soon enough, but I wasn't prepared for how sad it would make me.

Just wanted to tell someone how I was feeling, and I thought some of you who also go through this might understand. Thanks.

Joan

Hi Joan,
We're expecting our first frost any day - I know how you feel. The way that I get through the winter is by doting on my houseplants, pouring over seed catalogues and planning what I will do differently next year. Oh, and much more time on DG!
Cindy

Joan,hope you have greenthings in the house ,thats what keeps me sane in the winter!!

Joan
I knowhow you feel
Hang in there won't be too long and we can start seeds in the basemant.

Merry Christmas :)

Joan, I know what you mean, although we're (hopefully) a few weeks away from first frost, let alone that first hard freeze.

Try building a cold frame with straw bales and an old window or sheet of plexiglass - you can have lettuce for several more weeks!

Order some gardening catalogs now, if you don't currently receive any. Here are a few to consider:

Park Seed & Wayside Garden. Good looking photos and free.
Brent & Becky's Bulbs - ditto.
Plants Delight Nursery - where else can you get comedy and plants all rolled into one? (Well, besides DG?)
ForestFarm - it's big enough to be a doorstop.
J.L. Hudson (I think that's right) - great reading fun.

Start making a Christmas wish list - find new hand tools, gardening gloves, etc. and buy them as a gift to yourself, or let others know what you really want this year :)

If you've never started seeds indoors, think about trying your hand at it this year. I do okay until after Christmas and New Year's Day. Then I really go stir-crazy. But if I can start some plants by late January/early February, it helps me get through those long cold winter months. :)

And.....you have us! Trust me, the folks around this place can keep you smiling and toasty warm all winter long - at least they did me last year!!!!

Our first frost will happen any day now. I always feel sad when it comes and things go from looking pretty to looking terrible overnight. You'll feel better if you get right in there with the clippers and start cleaning up, enlarging beds, moving things, planting bulbs, mulching for winter and dreaming of next year's garden.

I am thinking of growing my own herbs indoors here in little pots. Might be a good alternative to outside gardening.
Sorry about your garden, esp. after your first year of serious gardening. Do you have pictures of your garden?

Thank you all for your replies and support. I have acted on some of the advice already and ordered some garden catalogs and have been looking on ebay for some cheap gardening books with pictures to look at and get some ideas for making my gardens better next year. This is my first year and I have a lot of work to do on them yet, so planning will be a good thing for me to do.

I live in a mobil home, so indoor plants don't work here. It's too dark. I do have a few in my office at work though. I don't have anyplace to put up grow lights either, but I'm working on maybe a small area with a little one to start a few anyway.

I was also thinking that I need to bring the plants that I have in pots to my MIL's basement now that it's froze. I have some cannas and elephant ears in pots. Should I wait until the foliage is all died down or should I take them in now? Also, should I take them out of the pots or can I leave them in them?

I do have pictures of my gardens. I haven't shared them with too many people, as they are so amateurish and this is their first year. I would share them if I knew how to though. But you gotta promise not to laugh! LOL

I'm feeling better tonight. I was really really sad this morning though. Just when I had things growing nice, wham! But, living in North Dakota, I knew it was bound to happen. It's also been spitting snow on and off all day.

Joan

Don't feel alone Joan,ours went too this week. Now with 2 days of strong north wind,the leaves are piling up'

We started something the past few weeks. We traded houseplants with our friends,different' That's after we nearly "kill ourselves"helping each other put in bulbs,lol'

I'm seldom inside in winter though,always something to take care of outside' This winter I will have the inside garden(Dave's)'

Along with the other great suggestions here,you might get some paperwhites(bulbs) to grow inside too,they're easy too'

I would subscribe immediately to every free seed catalog you can find. They'll start showing up in the mail about late January and you can wile away many hours planning next years garden plus they are a wealth of info in many cases.

Hi Joan. I know just how you feel. We haven't had frost yet, but the shorter days are already starting to make me feel closed in. I love my summer evenings in the garden. Now it seems like I get home and feed the family and clean up the kitchen and go to sleep.

I'm not big on houseplants, so I usually get creative in the kitchen in the fall and winter months. Did you get all your tomatoes put up?

I would LOVE to see your pictures. We moved to our new house in May and didn't have a chance to do anything except throw some annuals in the front yard, but I took pictures, too!

suky

Any one have any e mail addresses for seed catalogs? Thanks, Doris

Don't forget to journal about what grew, what didn't, how things looked, etc. Use pictures too if you can. Keep track of what you wished would have been in certain places, weeds that took over when you though you'd obliterated them, etc.

Plan out next year's gardens, making diagrams and stuff to design a new plan for spring.

Get your bulbs in before the ground is like a rock. You'll be so glad in spring. Plant some bulbs that will come up really early -- squill and snowdrops, and crocus... these guys poke their heads right through the snow and are SUCH a relief, you may see the first of these in early March or even February!

And remember, you're not alone, we are all feeling the same up north... it's part of living up here.

I read in The Herb Companion that one thing we should always do is have a stretching and exercise program for winter so we won't be so sore come spring and good weather. Sounded sensible to me.

We all understand.

Love in Christ,
Janie
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Joan,just think about all the stuff that you won't have to deal with. First off...you're skeeters are gone.How I long for that day,but they're still in clouds around here.

You can plan your next year's gardens.Something I do over and over and believe me...my prospective gardens are always weed free and look like Better Homes and Gardens! Honestly,now is the time to get your grass cut out of new beds and plan what and where you want to put stuff.When it finally gets time to plant,you'll want to be sticking seeds and plants in the ground and won't want to deal with turning over new places.

Just about all seed companies will send a free catalog and many give great advice on growing and harvest.I always notice the 'harvest' part as I love my veggies.

The best thing you can do is hang out here at DG and as we all will eventually join you(except for those z10 people!)We'll all talk about our gardens and swap stories in these long cold nights ahead of us!

Hey Joan, You're not alone. It was a beautiful day here today and I spent time sitting outside just looking at all my flowers. The Cannas are just starting to bloom and Marigolds and Zinnias are just beautiful.The Impatients and Pansies are so colorful. But today was the last day I will enjoy them. Tomorrow night it is supposed to go down into the 20's with mountain snow and I live on a mountain so I'm sure we will get some of that white stuff.Everyones advise here is great. During the winter to prevent "cabin fever"starting some seeds are a must for me. I started all my Daturas next to my woodstove last winter. Even if you don't have a lot of room you can just start a few flats or six packs on a small table.I used those fold up tables that you eat on when watching tv.I'm going to wait till the snow flies and it turns bitter cold and then start planning next years gardens.Of course I have company every morning while having my coffee. I just turn on the computer, click on DG and start reading.If you get bummed out this winter, don't worry, we'll all be here for you.

Best thing I ever did was get a regular 4' shoplight with two flourescent tubes, can grow and start an amazing amount of plants under that! And at minimal cost! Found room on a room divider/breakfront. Also put a 'growstick' under a bathroom shelf to light the shelf below. Some people find space under a kitchen cabinet for a growstick... Have to have something green and growing! John

Joan, I know what you mean, we are faced with 2 nights of early killing frost ( even with covering,, I do not think I will be able to see what my new mums look like. What I will be doing is, cleaning out the area and scattering the self-seeding annual and bi-ennials--will mark with something other than popsical sticks this time!!!! Maybe there is some smell of summer that you would like to save (anything scented left) or maybe some sweet Annie? I do agree that one small grow light can do wonders. I have full spectrum lights in my reading lamps-helps both the plants and my seasonally affected depression; we are both happier. Some plants like: peace lily, sansivera (?) can get along with little light and a little silk flower tucked in. Good luck!! And keep in touch--we are in bloom all year.

I was the worst about SAD,(seasonal affective disorder) and would hit major depression depths at the first sign of fall. Somewhere along the way, I began to look at it as very similar to putting my babies to bed, feeling good about the household all tucked in for a long cozy sleep. I still have to watch the effects of long periods with little or no sunshine, or the depression gets pretty overwhelming. I honestly think I am not suited for your part of the country, but if I lived there, I would get the brightest lights possible, turn them on in all my rooms and pretend it was a bright sunny day. Then I would take advantage of the cool temperatures and bake something spicy. That always seems to cheer me up, just the aroma. Obviously, I would turn in early with a good stack of seed and plant catalogs to lull me to sleep. Drifting off, I would visualize all the little babies lying in their beds, at peace until spring thaws the ground and they awaken. Meanwhile, it's a gardener's day off. Hope you enjoy your snowy blanket. Aimée

I try to think of fall and winter as reading a good novel. It took awhile to read the whole book, but it was very, very good. And look forward to finishing that one, because I have another one sitting and waiting for me. You get to know all the characters (plants) and how they behave, but look forward to meeting new ones and learning about them. :)
We are expecting our first frost tonight and as much as it pains me, there is nothing I can do about it. I guess after we go to our two soccer games today, I will run around the yard and see who needs to come in and bid farewel to the others.
JoanJ, if you need some seeds or houseplants for the winter or for next season, E me. :)
Michele