Thinking about the garden

This is not my garden. But it makes me very happy.

Today is a typical cold, wet, gray Portland day. A good day for sitting inside with a cup of ginger tea and planning this summer's garden. We don't have a great yard for vegetable gardening -- it's slopy and shady -- and our past years' successes have been eh. But last September, after it became apparent that the tomatoes were once again not going to ripen in time, my daughter and I started discussing next year's strategy. We spied a pocket of sunlight in the far corner of the yard where melons might be happy, as long as we can get some water back there. We'd missed out on pea-planting, so it's definitely on the list for this spring. Blueberries, green beans, lettuce greens will have a home, scattered throughout the yard and in pots. Perhaps a single cherry tomato plant so the disappointment will be minor. (Seems like I've heard about some top-secret u-pick tomato spot somewhere in Portland with rock bottom prices. Need to find it.) Oh, and cilantro, for all of that salsa I'm going to make this summer. ;-)

In a previous life I lived in a house with a flat, full-sun backyard and an established organic garden. I spent my winters sketching out veggie placement and trying to incorporate some permaculture methods, ordering seeds through the Territorial Seed Company and then actually starting them indoors(!). Feels like a lifetime ago! I've yet to get into any sort of gardening groove in this house because it's such a challenge. But I have a garbage can full of luscious black compost waiting (from my very first composting experiment from two years ago) and more in the bottom of my current composter. I'm ready to get dirty, smell the soil, feel the sun on my neck, and try, try, try again. Are you feeling it?

(This photo is from Laura (& Garrett's) photostream on Flickr.)