Snow matters not

Even though the snow has (finally arrived), my thoughts have already turned to my garden. My strawberries and raspberries are sleeping, along with my parsley, chives, mint and marjoram. Seed catalogs have arrived and I've been dreaming of what I can add this year. A new mint? A better oregano than I got last year? Some snow peas and bush beans to grown in the upside down planters? What kinds of lettuce will I grow? What radishes does hubby want to try? Will we work out a space for potatoes this year? So much to think about.

I want to start with the book, "Square Foot Gardening." I will pick it up soon and pour over it. We've decided to focus on the family room this year, so we won't be expanding the garden bed. So I will need to make due with the space that we have right now. The raspberries and strawberries are where they are. The tomatoes will be scaled back. I am not growing Romas this year. I can buy them from any number of farm stands, and they hog too much room. I want to just do heirloom varieties. Preferably small ones. The kids love cherry tomatoes. So do I. I call them (and beans) yard snacks.

We're not adding anymore gardens anywhere this year. I would like some trees out front, but this will not be the year that we do it. We'll add some perennials that we get from my parents and the inlaws to the existing garden that we planted up last year. But beyond that, and some annuals for some colour, we won't be doing anything else. The soil is hard clay and we just won't have the time this year to break it up, haul it away and replace it before planting. The family room really needs to get finished. So long as all of the evergreens and shrubs survive the winter, and our bulbs bloom, I'll be happy with what we have out front for this year.