Strawberries, garlic, and random herbs
Mar. 22nd, 2007 07:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaunthieIt's definitely spring. My herb, vegetable, and flower beds are all loudly proclaiming it, no matter what the weather says. (Actually, the weather is very springlike, which is to say unpredictable and frequently wet.) It's that time of year when getting out there and policing for weeds on a near-daily basis will prevent hours of heartbreak later. It's that time of year where being able to recognize volunteer starts of useful/beneficial plants from random weedage will also save you hours of heartbreak later - not to mention expense. And it's that time of year where those with the gardening itch find themselves trading or giving away plants that they have too many of, to make room for this year's new additions.
For example, a couple of weekends ago I dug up some of the innumerable volunteers I have of certain random herbs and veggies - salad burnet, peppermint, swiss chard, chamomile, lemon balm, fennel, and mustard greens, just to name some - and gave them to an acquaintance who's setting out a bunch of new containers this year and was looking for herbs. Easy as pie to do on my end, and she was gratifyingly happy to get them. Earlier this week another acquaintance gave me a bunch of extra strawberry crowns she had from planting out her new strawberry bed. I was very happy to get those; I've got an old strawberry pot that desperately needs replanting. I'll be thinning out my garlic patch (again; I really went overboard planting last fall, and I've got a bunch of volunteers from last years' crops on top of that) and giving her some garlic starts in return, as she's expressed interest in it, and really, who doesn't want/need/love garlic?
It's no big deal really, and yet it's a kind of community I find incredibly comforting. Working women, professionals all in our various fields, but all with the same basic need to grow things and to share. It just makes me happy.
For example, a couple of weekends ago I dug up some of the innumerable volunteers I have of certain random herbs and veggies - salad burnet, peppermint, swiss chard, chamomile, lemon balm, fennel, and mustard greens, just to name some - and gave them to an acquaintance who's setting out a bunch of new containers this year and was looking for herbs. Easy as pie to do on my end, and she was gratifyingly happy to get them. Earlier this week another acquaintance gave me a bunch of extra strawberry crowns she had from planting out her new strawberry bed. I was very happy to get those; I've got an old strawberry pot that desperately needs replanting. I'll be thinning out my garlic patch (again; I really went overboard planting last fall, and I've got a bunch of volunteers from last years' crops on top of that) and giving her some garlic starts in return, as she's expressed interest in it, and really, who doesn't want/need/love garlic?
It's no big deal really, and yet it's a kind of community I find incredibly comforting. Working women, professionals all in our various fields, but all with the same basic need to grow things and to share. It just makes me happy.
