catnip and coffee

I was outside on Sunday for a bit between rainstorms, and I caught it. That first whiff of spring. If you live in the frozen tundra New England like I do you know what I’m talking about. It won’t be back for a while, with two feet of snow still on the ground, but that whiff is hope giving.

 So what did I do? I started some seeds of course! Only flowers for now, (I started my veggies too early last year and paid the price.) and I’m trying some new ones this year: yellow coreopsis, pink dianthus, mixed convoluvus, orangy gazania, bright red marigolds, starry blue laurentia. I can’t wait to see how they turn out! Or if they even sprout! Of course, I also started some basics, cosmos, pansies, coleus, and daisies, some more basil since I killed the last batch and spearmint since it likes any soil. Oh, and the morning glories. Did you know you have to nick the hard shell and soak them overnight? Huh. Well, neither did I, but now I know why they didn’t come up last year - I didn’t read the freaking directions.

You can now imagine what my house looks like: little pots of dirt taking up every flat surface. I used up all the plastic food containers I saved all winter, plus a couple mini greenhouse flats. Not to mention my usual houseplants and wintered over herbs. Yikes. Someday I’ll have a gardening station with a growlight in the basement….