Catalog Dreaming

It’s January. The ground remains frozen and snow-covered. Although there’s lots of wintertime activities to keep me busy, I’m thinking about sunshine and springtime gardens. The seed catalogs arrived last week, and oh, the luscious contents!

Produce of every shape, color, and size, all bursting with color and flavor, promise bountiful harvests. My favorite catalog so far specializes in “seeds and plants for gourmet vegetables.” They offer delicacies like purple carrots, yellow raspberries, tomatoes and peppers in every hue, kitchen herbs, and edible flowers. Have you ever tasted a nasturtium? I did once in a fancy restaurant. They’re fuzzy.

I have very limited space available for gardening, but I’m hopeful of eventually increasing my “acreage” with tiered raised beds. That will give me more growing area, as well as make cultivation easier on my back and knees. With luck, a raised bed might even thwart the gophers!

At the least, this spring I’ll grow potted herbs on my window sills, and plant a couple of tomato bushes outside. Until then, I’ll sit here in front of my warm fire, leafing through the catalogs, remembering gardens of the past, and dreaming of future abundant harvests. I’m not too sure about purple carrots, but I’ll always make room somewhere for a nasturtium!