Spring!

I hit the garden today...just a little spring cleanup. The snow has melted from the majority of my beds. I don't think I've ever been out this early in the season before. But I've got big plans this year. My decade of gardening, interviews with fellow gardeners and last fall's publication of my book have inspired me. I feel like I have hit a pinnacle as a gardener. I'm ready to really trust my instincts and to run with my ideas.

I've got two pathways that need a lot of work and this is where I'll start. I've mustered the courage to try the mint in these areas, despite their invasive tendencies. I want pathways that my daughter will smell when she walks on them. I want the scents to trigger her memory all her life. Whenever she smells mint, she will think of gardening with mom.

We returned the fairy objects to the fairy garden today. My daughter has big plans for this garden. Mainly, she plans for the fairies to return. Last year they brought her a shiny pink marble that resembles a star sapphire. They also brought a necklace of tiny sea green glass. She wants the fairies to come back early this year. She worked hard for two hours laying out marble pathways to the two fairy houses that remained standing despite the ravages of winter snows and wind. I'm sure those fairies will return.

And this year, last year's vegetable garden will become a pumpkin patch. This is my third year vegetable gardening. The vegetables will return to the bed they originally occupied two years ago and will also be spread among perennial plantings. A gardener friend of mine lets her vegetables run wild -- tomatoes especially spread to unlikely wildflower beds and beyond. I like the idea of walking among the flowers and finding a surprise edible along the way. We'll see how well planning out "random" vegetable plantings goes.

Growing season spreads before me with grand opportunities. I hope that the snow melts faster!