Because I live in Michigan, I never thought I’d say that January was a favorite month of the year! But January 2022 has been wonderful. It’s been really cold outside; but warm and cozy inside. I’m grateful for that.
I’ve had time and energy to dream and plan and get ready for adventure!
Dreaming
For those of you who plant gardens, you know that seed catalogs start jamming the mailbox in January! I’ve spent several hours turning those bright colorful pages and trying to tamper down my urge to buy everything!
I did have a budget for roses — and it was great fun putting that order in. We will be adding 18 rose bushes to the five that we worked with last year. I just can’t wait!
I also had a budget for Dairy Doo; that’s the best compost available to purchase that I know of in my little spot in the world. We’re getting started with our own composting venture (now that we have a tractor), but this spring and summer our soil is going to be loaded with all the right nutrients for strong root-building and vigorous blooming.
Planning
After all the catalog-browsing and web-searching, it was time to sit down and plan my growing beds. This is the hard part for me. I need big paper, pencils with erasers, books, the internet, my Google Drive, my memory, a list of my purchases, oh-my-goodness! And I didn’t mention a calculator yet….the math helps….how many snapdragons will fit in the 6’x100′ bed?
Facing my fears
That’s another thing I’ve done in January. I’ve tried to balance my plans with the healthy realization that the actual growing is not up to me. I can put the necessary pieces together, but the growing depends on so many things completely outside my control. And that brings a little bit of fear into my heart! And it keeps me humble!
Every season is a growing season (plants and knowledge). Let’s just say, I’m up for the adventure! Here are the sources I leaned on this month:
Gwen's Greens 