Sharing with the Hoes vs. Others

As much as I have been enjoying a plant/seed swap group to which I belong, nothing compares to getting plants/seeds from my fellow Garden Hoes.

After 1.5 months I FINALLY received my end of a plant/seed trade, only to be disappointed. :O( The other party forgot to include the seeds they were supposed to send (bee balm and King Henry viola seeds), the "rooted chocolate mint" they sent was dead and the gladiola bulbs were very moldy. The Lily of the Valley pips appear to be in good shape though. Still, after having waited so long for my end of the trade, I was so saddened by the contents of the package.

Compare that experience to ANY I've had with my fellow garden hoes. I steal... I mean, I gently and with permission (LOL..that one time meant all the time, right?), take cuttings (or plants..hee hee) from Naomi's garden and if they don't work, I get to get more. Same with seeds. The last work day we had, at Anna's, she loaded us down with healthy and beautiful rhizomes of what we are all anticipating to be GORGEOUS iris and Nancy brought mystery bulbs for us to plant! I can't wait to see what they pop up as.

I just needed to vent about my less than expected trade I received and send a huge thank you to the wonderful hoes for all the wonderful plants, seeds, cuttings, bulbs, tubers, rhizomes, etc that you share with me!

Winter is finally upon us

Last night was the night - the night when winter finally turns the corner and fall has become a distant memory. I don't know why last night did it for me, but it seemed like yesterday everyone I knew was wishing for the summer heat again.



So, in this introspective mood, I wanted to present you with images of my garden-to-be...It's not actually my garden, nor could it be, but the images are so beautiful that they inspire me in my dreaming of spring. (The picture above is of my pond pre-freeze - hope it looks this good again in a few months.)

I want to thank Tom Spencer, the author and photographer of the blog I've linked below. I had the good fortune to actually meet Tom at a completely non-related event this past week and it reminded me I needed to check out his blog again. While the pictures of places far from here are wonderful, it's the simple yet powerful images of his own garden that evoke the most emotion from me.

Take your time and enjoy his images at Soul of the Garden.

~ Hoe Naomi