Do you see the way the seedling bends?

"do you see the way that tree bends?

does it inspire?

leaning out to catch the suns rays

a lesson to be applied

are you getting something out of this"

-- Present Tense, Pearl Jam

One of my husband's favorite songs is "Present Tense" by Pearl Jam.  When it comes to sowing seeds in late January, I think these lyrics are pretty fitting.  It's easy to feel glum this time of year and yearn for spring.  In years past, I spent the long, dark days staring outside at my dead garden spaces, designing elaborate gardens, and lamenting the cost of all that I wanted.

But not so much this year.  My wonderful hubby gave me license to order fifty dollars worth of seeds the week after Christmas.  Talk about getting your money's worth!  Seeds are one of the most affordable ways to make December dreams a reality.  If I bought a dozen ornamental grasses at a nursery it would probably run me at least 100 bucks (and I would love every second of it), but for less than ten bucks at outsidepride.com, I ordered enough to create three dozen plugs of Blue (eragrostis elliottii) and Purple love grass (eragrostis spectabilis -- who can resist that name?  I think I am going to start working it into my everyday vocabulary:  "You look spectabilis today.")    These are anchor plants for two of the garden sketches I came up with last month.  The package indicated that they could take up to 65 days to germinate, so I started them early.  They germinated in seven days, oh well!

Now each day is spent moving them and my lavender and agastache to a sunny spot in my kitchen after my son eats breakfast and then back into the bathroom in the evening when it's time to start dinner.  I watch them as they bend toward my southern sun, and the next day, I turn them.

 

It is so much fun to go to the nursery, but the shopping high is a quick fix that leaves me wanting more.  Growing plants from seed, on the otherhand, is a closed loop system of fulfillment: grow the plants, harvest the seeds, store the seeds, germinate the seeds, care for the seedlings, grow the plants, harvest the seeds, store the seeds, and on and on it sustains me.    I am getting something out of this -- plants that I couldn't otherwise afford.  And even when the forecast is rain, snow, and ice I have a reason to be very happy in the present tense.