Every spring, like clockwork, I fall in love all over again – with dirt under my nails, aching shoulders, and seed packets that I absolutely did not need but bought anyway because “I might try purple carrots this year.”
Yes, it’s garden season, friends. And here in Zone 7, where the hard frost has passed us and the soil no longer feels like a slab of concrete, I am once again transformed into a slightly feral, overenthusiastic garden girlie.
Every year, when we get the New England fake spring, I start to get the itch.
I want to get my hands in the dirt and see what new and exciting flora I can grow. Waiting until our last frost date takes mountains of patience, but that patience pays off when I spend my warm spring and summer days enjoying the bounty of my harvest.
This year, I built (another) new garden bed and am devoting it to edible goodies—fruits and veggies. I will still plant all the flowers I can, but I am excited to try to serve my family some fresh-from-the-garden treats.
When the temperatures are still too chilly to do any real garden work, this is about the time every year that I come up with a new plan for my garden. I look at planting guidelines and complementary plants that can live together. I will see which flourishes with early spring planting and what needs to be planted when the soil is warm and waiting. I make a plan that, in theory, is perfect.
The problem is, when the time comes to get to work, I am like a kid in the candy store: throwing my plans to the wind, buying seeds, and planting whatever sounds good at the moment. This year, my impulse buys are beets and heirloom tomatoes. I am also trying my hand at dahlias and lilies in the flower beds.
Living in Zone 7 is like having the Goldilocks of gardening climates.
We get enough winter to kill off the worst pests but not so much that we’re stuck staring at dead flowerpots until May. I started planting cool-season crops like peas and my new beet seeds. My tomatoes are staying warm inside until they are ready to be hardened off and transferred outside.
As the temperatures and weather become more springy and consistent through May, we are going to try our hands at growing a watermelon, or “water-lemon,” as my three-year-old affectionately calls it. My kids’ excitement over growing their own food is an extra bonus to my love affair with my garden. They are excited to help me with the work and eat all the things we grow, which, as a mom, is a total win!
My garden is my happy place.
There’s something magical about watching your garden go from a blank dirt patch to full of life. I love every part of it—the back-breaking work, bugs and critters, troubleshooting why my cucumbers won’t grow, and finally enjoying the fruits (and veggies) of my labor.
Once summer break starts, I’ll do my early morning rounds, a perk of being a teacher. I will check that everything has had a good drink and is growing to its potential. My favorite time of day is those quiet minutes before the day starts, out in the garden I created.
Gardening grounds me—literally and figuratively. It forces me to slow down, pay attention, and remember that good things take time.
I’m just there. With the soil, the sunshine, and the ridiculously satisfying feeling of growing something with my own two hands.
If you live in Zone 7 and are not gardening, friend, it’s never too late to start! The season is generous, the possibilities are endless, and the joy is very real.
