January is the longest month of the year. Although six of the other months have the same number of days (31) January always seems to drag on and on and on. I know this sentiment is not shared by everyone. There are millions of people who love the cold and winter sports and who have a perpetually higher body temperature than I have. I believe I would be accurate in saying; however, that these people are NOT gardeners. For those gardeners who have the space and for the truly fortunate ones who have a greenhouse, some seeds can be started indoors in late January and all the way up until the last frost date for their area.
Starting plants from seed can save a bundle of money and provides a greater variety of plants that can be grown. There is also a greater sense of satisfaction as you watch the seeds grow into tiny seedlings, eventually reaching their full potential and setting seeds of their own. It is difficult to have that same feeling for a potted plant purchased from a garden center and placed in your own garden. It is more like adoption, than “birthing” the plants that you nurture. Perhaps in some way we “bond” with the seeds we plant in a way that simply cannot be experienced in those flowers that we buy already half grown.
As these seemingly endless days of winter march on, I know that in reality we are inching closer to spring. It is the waiting that becomes difficult. It is like putting my life on hold. Winter is an interruption. It is a great inconvenience that I must endure. I await spring like a child waits impatiently for his birthday. I wait and I wait; knowing that spring will come – just not soon enough! Science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein was inspired by his wife’s comment about their cat, when he wrote The Door into Summer. She said, “He’s looking for a door into summer.” I am looking for that door, too.
