February Garden

Here in Western Washington, it's been raining nearly daily for five months and there's still no end in sight. And it's been cold, almost cold enough to snow, but usually the temperature hovers just above freezing and drops ice cold rain drops on those brave souls who venture out of their homes.

In February most of my gardening happens in my imagination (not unlike the rest of my life), on graph paper, and staring out the kitchen window. On graph paper, I plan out every square inch of garden space, marking where I will plant each vegetable and fruit. Of course, when the time comes to actually plant the garden, I will not use any of the maps I've been drawing out all winter. Once I get out to the garden in spring, I plant wherever I get the feeling something ought to be, which results in what appears to anyone else to be a mess, but to me it is a work of art. Looking out the kitchen window, I can almost feel the summer sun warming my shoulders as I meander around reaping the fruits of my labor, watching my three sons chasing each other through the clover.

I look forward to planting peas as soon as I have a sunny day. I planted them in mid-February last year, sure that I was making a foolish mistake, but unable to control my compulsion to plant during a sunny week. A few weeks after my boys and I planted them, we had snow and sub freezing temperatures for several days. Shockingly, nearly all the peas we planted sprouted and produced sweet pea pod treats by late March!

In the kitchen, I haven't been using anything fresh from the garden since I haven't wanted to be outside any longer than it takes me to take out the trash.