It's a new year and the best time to make gardening resolutions. I've decided on three – one is practical, one is educational, and one is inspirational.
The Practical
This year I want to grow microgreens indoors. Some planning is required and the gathering of supplies and seeds, but if you grow lettuce and other greens in the garden, I expect moving things indoors shouldn't be too difficult. For some practical advice, I've looked at the West Coast Seeds article for beginners, How to Grow Microgreens. This Canadian-based seed company operates from Ladner, British Columbia, offering heirloom and organic seeds for all purposes, including sprouting. After looking at the compact Growlight Garden, which is small enough to set on a kitchen counter or on a corner table, I'm 'practically' inspired to get started.
This year I want to grow microgreens indoors. Some planning is required and the gathering of supplies and seeds, but if you grow lettuce and other greens in the garden, I expect moving things indoors shouldn't be too difficult. For some practical advice, I've looked at the West Coast Seeds article for beginners, How to Grow Microgreens. This Canadian-based seed company operates from Ladner, British Columbia, offering heirloom and organic seeds for all purposes, including sprouting. After looking at the compact Growlight Garden, which is small enough to set on a kitchen counter or on a corner table, I'm 'practically' inspired to get started.
Beet or chard seedlings. PHOTO: Quickcrop, UK
The Educational
The challenge with gardening is that there is SO much to know! There is always something to discover. This year, I want to learn how to propagate succulents from cuttings and leaves. Perhaps you have tried this; I've puttered at it. I know from expereince that new plants can be started from a single leaf. According to R. J. Hodgkiss at the The Succulent Plant Page, "A single leaf, carefully detached from many succulents is often sufficient to start a new plant, and is the preferred method for propagating e.g. Adromischus, Crassula, Echeveria, many Kalanchoe, Sansevieria and many epiphytic cacti." My goal is to learn more about this family of plants and then, to introduce them into my garden in containers. What do you think?
The challenge with gardening is that there is SO much to know! There is always something to discover. This year, I want to learn how to propagate succulents from cuttings and leaves. Perhaps you have tried this; I've puttered at it. I know from expereince that new plants can be started from a single leaf. According to R. J. Hodgkiss at the The Succulent Plant Page, "A single leaf, carefully detached from many succulents is often sufficient to start a new plant, and is the preferred method for propagating e.g. Adromischus, Crassula, Echeveria, many Kalanchoe, Sansevieria and many epiphytic cacti." My goal is to learn more about this family of plants and then, to introduce them into my garden in containers. What do you think?
Succulent ready for cutting. PHOTO: http://needlesandleaves.net
The Inspirational
I find inspiration in reading the thoughts of gardeners, both unsung or famous, who have planted and tended before me. It's their dedication that gives me reason to lift a spade. This year, I look to Englishman Russell Page (1906-1985), considered to be the foremost landscape architect of his time. Page designed dozens of gardens in England, Europe and the US, but wrote only one book,
The Education of a Gardener, published in 1962. It is a memoir by a talented horticulturist who had no garden of his own, yet could speak movingly of "the spirit of place". Intriguing, and I'm quite sure, inspiring.
I find inspiration in reading the thoughts of gardeners, both unsung or famous, who have planted and tended before me. It's their dedication that gives me reason to lift a spade. This year, I look to Englishman Russell Page (1906-1985), considered to be the foremost landscape architect of his time. Page designed dozens of gardens in England, Europe and the US, but wrote only one book,
The Education of a Gardener, published in 1962. It is a memoir by a talented horticulturist who had no garden of his own, yet could speak movingly of "the spirit of place". Intriguing, and I'm quite sure, inspiring.
The terraced gardens at Villa Silvio Pellico, near Moncalieri, Italy, which Page completed in the 1950s. PHOTO: Royal Horticultural Society
As 2017 begins, have you made any gardening resolutions? They are just as personal as the other resolutions we make, but in my view, they are easier to keep because they come from our passion for growing. Remember ... to be inspired, you have to keep learning.
What's your gardening resolution? Share in a comment.
