Seedy Saturday & Sunday

Toward the end of February, weather permitting, it can sometimes feel like we are turning a corner in the year - or we are on the verge of doing so.  Thoughts of spring start coming to mind more vividly and we give thought to upcoming spring bulbs and our gardens.

It is typically the last week of February that kicks off many Seedy Saturday and Seedy Sunday events across the country.  Held at local botanical gardens and community centres, people gather together to swap seeds they've collected last season, donate to seed banks, purchase new seeds, and to learn from exhibitors about all manner of topics related to gardening, the environment and keeping our green spaces beautiful and healthy.

For some, this means graph paper and a ruler, drawing diagrams of their property layout, sun position and re-designing their hardscape and herbaceous borders.  For many, it means writing out which seeds to purchase, spring to do lists, and a chart with a timeline of when to start sowing which seeds indoors.

Others play with coloured pencils and markers and draw their existing garden at set times of the year: what it looks like in early spring, late spring, midsummer, early fall, even winter.  This might inspire changes and notes are jotted down about which plants to relocate to another area of the property, which new flower to try out, and which plants make good companions.  One idea tends to lead to another and many times a list of tasks and projects emerge.

Although many of us long for greener days, when more and more bulbs burst through the soil each day, bringing colour and scent back into our lives, the act of planning our indoor or outdoor gardens can be a source of pleasure and joy in and of itself.  It is time well-spent and is one of the more soothing indoor activities in our modern world.