Category: Gardening

  • Vegetables Tell Stories, and Catalogs Spread the Word

    part 4 of 4 on seed catalogs Have you ever had a big dinner with extended family, perhaps at Thanksgiving when all the nice dishes are brought out of the cupboard, and discussion has turned to the history of the antique serving bowl being passed around? It’s the kind of hand-me-down that is accompanied by…

  • Peering Over the Catalog Fence

    part 3 of 4 on seed catalogs The rough-hewn wood of a wide field gate shields a broad garden of gently sloping rows ready for planting. Beyond are border herb and flower beds, white fence posts against a dark, protective tree line, and a beautiful sunrise peeking over the scene. The rays light up a…

  • Catalog-ically Growing

    part 2 of 4 on seed catalogs The year has begun with a series of slate-gray mornings and frosty nights. Even though the winter solstice is behind us, I still feel a bit boxed in by these short days, and a familiar sense of restlessness that comes from not spending enough time in my garden.…

  • Catalogs Spark a Perfect-Bound Desire to Plant

    part 1 of 4 on seed catalogs Sometimes desire is a tiger caught by the tail. It whips you around and sends you tumbling, arms outstretched. But in the coldest winter time, coasting through the short light of the after-holidays, it does not have to fill you with hot ambition. It might be enough just…