Sylvar

Well, January is almost upon us. Here in central Ohio that means grey, wet, cold, weather…oh and it’s cold to…and grey. I am the kind of person who needs sunshine to maintain my cheerful disposition. Not beach level sunshine mind you, just your basic clear day to generate some vitamin D. The only bright spots between now and March are the piles of seed catalogs that are about to show up in my mail box. I don’t order as much though catalogs as I used to, but I still flip through every page and circle things I might be interested in. It’s refreshing to see everything in bloom at once. I like to pour a glass of wine in the evening, curl up under a blanket with my wife, and Oooo and Ahhhh over all the different Lilies and Irises. I’ll try to get her to pick which slicing tomato she wants to try this year (she likes fresh tomatoes). We will debate on whether or not to raise cucumbers (she doesn’t like pickles). And I will try to figure out what oddball plant will inhabit my garden this coming year. I have a tradition…Each year I must grow one plant that I have never grown before. Not a different variety…that’s par for the course…something completely new. I have grown many things in the past that wouldn’t have tried other wise…Bread Poppies, Artichokes, Okra, Lemongrass, Blue Potatoes (first potato I ever tried to grow) this list goes on and on. Some become part of the normal rotation…and some get filed under “What was I thinking?” Seed catalogs are the best place to start this type of adventure. So many exotics are added each year that I sometimes have a hard time choosing. I also love having the chance to sit down and plan the garden. What will go where (I am a graph paper sort of guy in that regard). When we will attempt to get things in the ground. How much of everything we will try to grow. What we will try to put in the freezer. Even though it’s cold and grey, as long as the mail comes, January is a month of hope.

So good luck in 2008! And many your mail box be filled with a thousand catalogs!

Shane