Anxiety Borne of Inexperience

Well, DG Friends, it's March. Winter will soon exhale its last gasps. In theory, the digging, soil ammending, and planting I did last Summer and Autumn should soon begin to yield bounteous results.

This is my first garden..., my first gardening Spring. I keep telling myself..., nature is wise..., the genetic knowledge encoded in bulbs' and perennials' DNA helices will cause them to respond to moisture, the lenghtening day, warming of the soil (and maybe even my care).

Have faith, I say. Nature is wise. But, oh, ye of little faith..., what if the Alcea don't come up? ...or the Hostas? ...or the Tulips? ...or the Thyme? ...or the Lilies? ...etc,etc,etc? What if..., nothing?

"That's not anxiety you're feeling," my patient wife says. "That's expectation."

Then why am I sweating?

Adam.



This message was edited Sunday, Mar 2nd 3:24 PM

Never trouble trouble, til trouble troubles you!

From experience, if nothing comes up they are still in a box somewhere waiting to be planted. Soon the problem will be where to plant anything new.

Bless you, Baa.

Adam.

Thanken you goodly sir.

One thing I've found about growing plants is that sometimes you need a magic wallet and boundless confidence that if the garden grows weeds it can equally grow desirable plants. If all else fails you can grow weeds and call it a wildflower garden.



This message was edited Sunday, Mar 2nd 5:22 PM

and, there are plenty of us here willing to send a seed or two if all comes to naught, which I must say I have experienced only once and it wasn't my fault, really . . .

Adam, just be patient, you will be amazed in the mid spring. I recall yu planted some bulbs, so those are a sure fire thing that will come up, unless of course you have resident squirrels that think you made a smorgasbord for them (like mine think) if you do have this problem, here is a hint: sprinkle some blood meal on the soil - or sprinkle some human hair on the soil, just work it in a little.
as for your seeds. some will come up and some wont, that happens.
If when spring is here and you have nothing coming up, I'll send you some plants....

But then most likely they will come up and then you will be hooked and so thoroughly hooked on this wonder of wonders, the garden. And you are so right, Baa, the magic wallet that never empties. They are so many beauties to grow and see what opens and blooms.

Adam I don't think there is a gardener anywhere that doesn't have those (expectations) new or old. I know this past summer was bad for my garden with early rains non stop , then into hot and drought no rain at all and throw in a few moles and this winter the coldest for long spells of time that we have had in ages. But I have to believe that all my babies have deep roots and will be there to brighten my day some spring. Like Baa said I am sure I can find something's that forgot to get planted and all of us can sure find things not yet planted to share with you. Sit back and relax and enjoy the beauties and don't worry. I think you will be in for a wonderful surprise.

Dear Adam, this is only my 4th year of gardening and I, too, go through the same thing every spring. And I am so humbled by the plants that do come up, I tend to forget about the ones that didn't make it. Your garden will be beautiful and we look forward to your pictures.

Hey Adam, I hope you planted a few crocuses. That way in a couple weeks your fears will start to become allayed when those reliable little hardies poke up through the cold ground. I hear from my warm winter nest that you have had a truly horrific winter but in my (long) experience in a NY garden, it seems that the best garden season often follows such a winter.