Garden, Humor, Soul Homework

Planning

Writer McWriterson

I was going to call this blog post Plotting, but I wasn’t sure whether it was the right word. I was thinking about the phrase garden plot and was trying to make a play on words. But I decided to look it up and discovered a nice blog post that explained the difference between plotting and planning.

Making plans for my garden gives me a sense of optimism. It’s a kind of therapy I didn’t know I needed. Looking at photographs of flowers in full bloom and picturing how they might look in our yard has reassured me that, yes, there will be beauty in our yard again soon.

We had planned to put a little vegetable garden just beneath our dining room window because it has been an empty space for a long time. But then, in September, we installed a window bird feeder on our dining room window, and now I’m not sure it’s a good idea to have the garden there.

We’re considering moving the window feeder, but we’re not sure if that’s wise. Will the birds accept this? I realize that contemplating whether or not to relocate our feeder as the determining factor to our vegetable garden may not sound stable, but it feels like the most sound decision I’ve made in the previous two months.

If you zoom in, you can see a little bird at our window feeder on a snowy morning.

This is what I’d like to grow in the vegetable garden: lettuce, broccoli, onion, and green pepper.

Courtesy Eden Brothers

This year, I also intend to expand my flower garden. Zinnias, sunflowers, and a new flower I discovered recently, ranunculus. Thanks to my friends Kristen and Suz for introducing me to this beautiful flower. I ordered some bulbs from an online nursery, and they should come around my birthday week.

I used to be disheartened by how “ugly” winter made our yard seem. But now when I see our mourning Doves, black capped chickadees, tree sparrows, red-winged blackbirds, and the rare northern cardinal living in our trees and shrubs throughout winter, I wonder, if the birds are happy enough to remain here, why shouldn’t we be?

A greenhouse in our backyard is a future project I’d love to work on. I’ve been wanting one for a while now, but it wasn’t until I saw this greenhouse that I became obsessed:

Courtesy Lucky Andi

I mean, COME ONNN. I’d live in there.

Look at all those plants!

Courtesy Lucky Andi

Lucky bastards.

They rent out this greenhouse for photos and “events,” but they don’t have a restroom, so good luck with the “event” when you have to hold your pee the entire time.

(Sighs in menopause)

There’s been a plastic Little Tykes playhouse in our backyard since we moved here in 2005. I never wanted to get rid of it because it held so many memories of the girls playing. But I’d sell that sucker up the river for a gorgeous, gorgeous greenhouse.

On second thought, I don’t have the heart.

I discovered that I had costly taste while studying greenhouses. So it appears that we will have to rent out our future greenhouse for “events” as well.

I never envisioned myself as someone who would be obsessed with flowers, the Audubon society, who watches for sales on flower bulbs and buys certain bird food to attract specific birds to her yard.

People used to think that living like this meant you were becoming old. Maybe? Perhaps it’s because I’m taking the time to appreciate everything that’s going on around me. I am grateful to the pandemic for forcing me to do so.

I think I’m finally transforming into the person I’ve always wanted to be.

Have you been planning? Or plotting? 😉

Here are some fun links:

Advantages and Disadvantages of Clover Lawns

Vegetable Gardening for Beginners: The Basics of Planting & Growing

rent our nashville greenhouse — Lucky Andi

10 Best Backyard Greenhouses to Buy Online in 2022

Planting Your Native Garden | Field Museum

Plotting vs Planning – Somewhere Slowly

No, That’s Not an Owl Outside Your Window

Red Winged Blackbird Symbolism & Spiritual Meaning

46 thoughts on “Planning”

  2. I’d kill for that greenhouse! But I agree, never plant a garden under bird feeders, it will be full of weeds in no time. Ranunculus are gorgeous but I’ve never had luck growing them up here.
    😰

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  3. Yes! Definitely planning and plotting! I will be moving later this year to a space with a fully fenced, completely private back yard…bwahahahaha! My move will come too late for growing much this year, but I can and will start laying out the garden I will be growing next year and in years to come. I might even have a greenhouse or she shed or some combination of both in my future (not quite so fancy as your dream one)…I’m already reading up on gardening in the Pacific Northwest and ordering seed catalogues. Whoopeee!!!!!

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  5. ranunculus have been on my list this has well. I have so many flower seeds, bulbs, and flower roots that my living room has been taken over by them! I think you should move the bird feeder and plant the garden. The birds will figure out where the feeder went and you’ll get to dig your hands in soil and feel all the joy that comes with growing things. I myself have a plan of selling cut flowers at the farmers markets, and I too have a plan for the greenhouse of my dreams 🥰 all in due time of course. For now… I can’t wait to plant ALL the things ☺️

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  6. I know I want another huge pot of basil for our patio this year and I’d like to try a few other potted vegetables too since we don’t have a great space for a garden that wouldn’t be eaten in it’s entirety by animals. I did plant a few new flowering bushes in the fall and can’t wait to see if they all come back or not. I sure hope so!!

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    1. I hope they return for you! We transferred peonies from our side yard to our back yard last fall, and I’m hoping they survived.

      Speaking of herbs, I planted cilantro from Trader Joe’s on my patio last year. However, it did not smell or taste like cilantro. It did, however, look lovely, so I kept it as a decorative plant instead.

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  7. We did have to scrap our bird feeder due to its location (only spot where we can have a garden). My husband opted for bird houses in the dogwoods in front and they are fun to watch. We’ve never had any luck growing broccoli, but we always have green beans coming out of our ears. Is there a secret?

    And yes, my son rolls his eyes if we talk about birds in his presence. But come on, birds are fascinating! We get a lot of pileated woodpeckers, who are the cool kids of the forest.

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    1. The first year we moved into our house, we threw pumpkin seeds in the side yard. Mind you, this was in the middle of July during a drought. A few months later, we had pumpkins growing out of our ears. Now, if I merely look at a plant the wrong way, it won’t take. It only goes to show that sometimes it’s just luck.

      They are very fascinating. I believe it started for me when I was learning about dinosaurs with my daughter a few years ago and read that birds are the last remainder of dinosaurs. That is just cool.

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  8. I love ranunculus. A friend introduced them to me in the 1990s. I’m with you on enjoying birds and our yard. Maybe it is because we’re getting older, or maybe it’s all the time we’ve spent at home lately.

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  9. Cornucopia allotment was my passage to growing 2017-2019, this time I am looking at a bit bigger space for my brood collected! Maybe you should pretend a sale, and hope they get a good round of amnesia! lol

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  10. I’ve been planning our plots, too. We started re-working our landscape style about 3 years ago. We’re morphing from mega bushes to a few understated ones with lots of decorative stones to add texture AND with pretty pots of flowers every which way. I’m going to wrangle this property into having good curb appeal yet.

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  11. I’m terrible at planning my gardens. I just kinda go crazy at the nurseries when the time comes and buy what appeals to me. I would love a decent sized veggie garden but we don’t have enough sun in our yard. So I do plant some lettuces in the spring since they don’t need much sun and then we plant a few tomato plants in pots where we keep them in a small patch of sunlight in the back yard.

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  12. I am not plotting or planting. I think you could say the only planning I am doing is organizing discarded clothes and preparing to donate them. I still have too much that needs my attention inside the house to give the outside much focus. Someday. I love peony bushes. Love. Those flowers you intend to plant are gorgeous as is that green house. Dare to dream.

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    1. The previous owners planted peony bushes on the side of our house that you can’t even see. Every year, I would tell Mike, “I hate that those gorgeous peony bushes bloom and we never get to appreciate them.” So we transplanted them to our back yard last autumn so we could enjoy them. I’m hoping that they took to the transplanting. If they do, I’ll send you peony bloom photos every week so it’s like your own virtual garden. 🙂

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  13. I don’t feel that that makes you old at all! I subscribe to the old Chinese saying “Life begins the day you start a garden”! 🙂 Yes, with lots of planning, plotting, planting, and even peat-mossing (we have some in our back yard, and I couldn’t come up with another gardening word that started with a P 😀 ). To me, that sounds delightful!

    And the greenhouse looks divine! Especially since we had struggled with those disgusting, horned worms when we try to grow peppers ourselves…

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  14. Girl, you are speaking my language! I am obsessed with watching the birds! I recently had to move my feeder that was about 20 feet from our front door/windows because birds kept hitting my windows. (even after I moved it further away) Do you have birds hitting the window?
    Anyhoo, I moved it over by my office, and this morning I had a slew of Cardinals, doves. pileated woodpeckers, red chested woodpeckers, and blue jays: The birds were JOYOUS this morning. So I think moving the feeder wasn’t horrible, but I love to see them from my kitchen too.
    I hope you get your veggie garden and those flowers that we both covet!
    I think getting older we all do appreciate nature so much more; right? We actually take the time now to smell the lovely flowers.
    I remember the day we took down the big ass swingset in our yard. The kids enjoyed it when they needed to and then we moved on. I’m not crying, it’s allergies.
    That greenhouse looks amazing.

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    1. We now have “accidents” with birds on a daily basis. THUD, THUMP I hope they’re all right. The dogs adore it because they believe they are receiving a bird to eat. 😉

      I had blue jays in the autumn but no longer have them, so they must have moved down to you! I enjoy hearing about the birds you see down there. I’m also looking forward to seeing what kinds of birds we’ll encounter in the spring and summer. Yesterday was a wonderful 55-degree day, and the birds were singing so beautifully. I told Mike that I felt like they were thanking us for feeding them all winter. Or they’re simply conversing with one another. WHATEVER. Let me have my dreams.

      Suz, I’d feel the same way. It’s so bittersweet.

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  15. Move the feeder. When winter comes and they are hungry they WILL find it.

    And this? “I’m taking the time to appreciate everything that’s going on around me. I am grateful to the pandemic for forcing me to do so.” I feel the same. I just wish others would get that message – but they seem to ignore it; to their own detriment.

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    1. You’re right!

      I agree with you, Gigi. I used to be irritated by people’s ignorance, but now I’m saddened that they’re losing out on the greater picture. The previous two years have not been an inconvenience; rather, they have been a major wake-up call.

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  16. Oooooh look at those daylilies!!!
    I have been thinking about my garden too, but everything is still snow covered and frozen. Soon! Soon. I love gardening and our season is so short, I have to make the most of it!

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    1. Those daylilies were given to us by our dear friend Orpha. We mentioned to her that we were looking for flowers for around our trees in our backyard, and she said she had lilies that needed to be thinned and asked if we wanted them. We spent the day with her thinning her lilies many years ago, and those are all of them! I think about Orpha every time I look at our lilies. 🙂

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  18. My desk is covered in my beloved collection of gardening books and old seed catalogs, the graphing paper is out, and I had to find my pencil sharpener because I *actually* needed to use it! Heck yah, I’m garden planning! 🙂

    I credit Monty Don and a fabulous new friend. Monty Don (mostly his various TV programs) is endlessly inspiring (also frustrating bc there’s no way I can grow in my climate/soil what he grows in his lol). And I have a lovely new friend who is like my twin, except younger & way way cooler than me. 🙂 Much dreaming and inspirational photo texting of gardens, animals (of course!) and chicken coops! Pretty sure our guys are both bemused and a tad worried (We have also discovered the *pricey* but oh so dreamy greenhouses Kari! Omg want!). It is so marvelous to have a friend to plot with! 🙂 We’ll see what we get up to!

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    1. I love how you’re plotting and planning as well! I went to Monty Don’s website, and his gardens have provided me with some eye candy to get me through the remainder of winter!

      By the way, you’re always inspiring me. I was thinking about you the other day while listening to The Feelies. I’m completely smitten with their music, thanks to you. 🙂

      A chicken coop! That’s YET ANOTHER thing we need! Gonna need a bigger back yard…;)

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