Do I Have to Garden?

I love the internet. You just never know what you're going to find, what you might learn, or who you're going to meet. Or, in the case of blogs, who might stop by. Remember the sleep study guy who found my sleep knitting interesting enough to note? That was pretty cool. Well, it's happened again. I'm always amazed at how people find this blog, or for what reasons. I have a SiteMeter thing that tracks my blog traffic, and I get reports once a week or so telling me how many visits I've had. I never believe it though. I can't fathom that 200 'people' have viewed my site when only three or four people ever comment on a regular basis.

Anyhow, my point. Lurinda, a commentor, gave me this link in response to my story about my grandmothers mysterious black salve. Whether this was the stuff or not I don't really know or remember, but it doesn't really matter. I just think it's incredibly cool that a) she happened by my blog purely by chance and b) was thoughtful enough to leave me a link. These little unexpected things have a way of making my day.

So spring seems to have finally sprung here on the South Shore and I feel, despite the lingering effects of the head cold, utterly reborn. Everyone I've talked to this past winter felt that it was a cold, long and dark one to be sure, and the return of the sunlight and the warmth has remarkably improved my outlook on life, though it has proved a little damaging to my credit card, but that's a story for another time (re: spring wardrobe).

I've never had a yard to care for before, and the prospect of spending afternoons and evenings dawdling around doing this or that is a pleasent one. I can pick up branches and rake up old leaves, clear out planting beds and pull some weeds. Seems like a lovely excuse to be outside.

I'll admit that I am a whole hearted domestic type of woman. I love being in and taking care of my home. I like doing laundry and even relish a good, fierce cleaning session, especially when I've neglected it for months in favour of marathon knitting sessions. I love to cook (when I feel like it) and bake (again, when the mood strikes) and I find a strangely thrilling satisfaction in keeping things orderly (in my own disheveled way). I love the idea of decorating and entertaining (though the budget rarely allows for the lavish dreams that I have), and am quite content in immersing myself in all the womanly hobbies of sewing, quilting, knitting etc.

All of this being said, do I have to be a gardener too? I've never had much luck with keeping plants alive the few times I've had them, indoors or out. I don't know the difference between annuals or perennials. I don't think I could keep straight what grows best in what kind of sunlight or how much water and when to plant. I get really bummed out when things only bloom for a little while. My mother once put fake flowers in a window box on our front step and left them all year round. She was a pretty good gardener too, but I guess she just got tired of it after a while. Seems like a good idea to me.

I'd love to have a vegetable garden, since I'd be able to harvest everything at the end of or during the season rather than just constantly tending to things that will eventually die. I like the idea of the colour and vibrancy plants and flowers would bring to the homestead, but I just don't know if I've got the dedication it requires. But I still feel as though this is one torch of womanhood that I am obligated to take up. I am as yet undecided.

Just don't be surprised if you drive by the house and see a garden in full bloom in the middle of November. I might just have raided the fake flower department at WalMart.