Posted on by Donna

Imagination

“When the winds of March are wakening the crocuses and crickets,
Did you ever find a fairy near some budding little thickets,…
And when she sees you creeping up to get a closer peek
She tumbles through the daffodils, a playing hide and seek.”
–   Marjorie Barrows

 

Well here we are a year later, and our Groundhog friend in Pennsylvania said we would have an early spring.  Last year he said we would have 6 more weeks of winter.  Well he was wrong!!  Last year this time I was basking in the early spring sun and watching crocus and dwarf irises bloom.  The ground was completely bare and fairly dry.  Yes we had late snow in mid May but it wasn’t too bad.  We know we get May freezes so we plan.

But this year, we have had record snow.  It started in late November and continued through all of December (our snowiest on record).  We saw one day of complete thaw on New Year’s Day.  Then it snowed and snowed and snowed so much that we are above average with 173 inches including the snow storm last week; and we are approaching our record of 192 inches.  We are melting quickly with lots of rain so now I have snow and puddles, but nothing really blooming yet.  Everything is still rubbing the sleep from their eyes as they focus on the coming warm temperatures to make them cozy enough to want to peek their heads out.  So for this months Garden Bloggers Bloom Day I am having to use my imagination.  Imagining what my garden will look like this year.  What new plants will grow and what treasured plants will not be heard from.

Actually I have a great imagination.  I love to daydream; I have been told I am always in my head.  When I plan things, I first plan them in my head, and then write a few notes.  My main garden design for the new house was done through this imagining…this day dreaming in my head.  I know as gardeners we are supposed to write our plans out more, but my creative process is different.  It is very visual and hard to explain.  I get a picture in my head that I then create from…it changes of course from the original, but the basic form, the basic plan is usually written and crudely drawn.  Now as I am beginning my design business and designing for others, I have started to draw more and use some designing software, but the plan still starts with that picture; the vision I see.

I then research it, to make sure I have found the details I am looking for.  I read and read and then I make notes and refine the drawing.  With my veggie garden, this is especially so.  You can’t leave growing veggies to chance or a whim, and just throw caution to the wind or just try it….well you can but you probably will have many disappointments as I had earlier in my gardening experiences.  So now I use veggie garden software online to help draw and plan.  I read books, blogs, magazines and online articles to help get the details right.  Again it is all in my head, thoughts whirling and making it finally to paper.

So come along for a trip into my garden imagination….

Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions. ~ Albert Einstein

 

If you look closely through the snow, you will see the pond and the veggie gardens….sure it’s there just use your imagination…can you see it now..the lush green leaves peeking through the warm earth..the crystal clear water where you can see the tadpoles swimming on the pond bottom.  Keep looking as the plants flower and grow in; veggies are beginning to grown…can you see them, smell them…I can.

 

 

And what do we have here….the gardens surrounding the pond and patio.  I can see the flooding starting by the gazebo, but I am imagining my new rain garden planted this past fall will fill with the melted snow and grow lush flowers in and around it.  Can you see the meadow beyond the fence.  I can see the birds nesting in the houses and the native wildflowers are drawing in the pollinators.  And the white garden is blooming with bulbs first.  Will we have a non-white intruder this year into the white garden?

 

 

 

And what do we have here…ahh the corner where we need another rain garden…where roses grow just beyond the moisture loving irises. And there is the new circular raised veggie bed surrounded by beautiful flowers just beyond the new rain garden.  What is that house?  Oh yes this year we are attracting ladybugs to the garden and that is their house.  Can you just see the arbor where my new grapevine is growing?

 

 

 

Now what else can you see….

 

The wildlife coming back to the garden….just in time to celebrate National Wildlife Week from March 14-20.  Get outside for 15 minutes a day, and celebrate the wildlife in your area.  I am imagining the fox (we named him Axl) catching voles and bunnies.  The deer are jumping my fence and munching on hosta and tulips…scat!!  More Bambies will find the meadow….

Boy all this imagining is like dreaming isn’t it..but the reality of spring is around the corner……I can just see it peeking through the winter landscape….

 

“Half the interest of a garden is in the constant exercise of imagination.” Mrs. C. W. Earle

32 Replies to “Imagination”

  2. Your thoughtful delving into imagination is just the ticket. Plants are still sleeping, just now losing their snowy blankets. Starting to see the soil again awakes both the plants and the gardener’s imagination. Green is appearing again. Time to stop slumbering and dreaming and let the imagination blossom along with the crocus and daffodils.

    1. It is so funny but I have so much already growing but I am resisting taking pictures…I alsways have things growing hardily under the snow…I am waiting for the first blooms instead…what will it be? I think a snow crocus…

  3. Hi Donna – you’ve used a lot of imagination just designing and planning your garden. Love the sound of your rain garden. To be able to picture things is half the battle and one where I tend to falter – more wishy-washy dreamy than imaginitive. With the help of last year’s Spring images I can however see how your garden will look in the very near future.

    1. Thx Laura…my imagination never seems to falter..sometimes a curse when getting down to doing things when I am still daydreaming..

  4. Hi Donna, Your garden plans sound wonderful. You can teach someone the principals of landscape design, but you can’t teach them to have vision/imagination. It is a gift that you have so lucky to have.

    1. Jennifer how sweet of you to say so…you have lovely vision yourself with those incredible pictures you take….

  5. Lovely post Donna! I love the Einstein quote. It is snowing here so to see all the lush colors of greens you show in your garden is truly inspiring to ones imagination. Sweet fox! What would a garden be without wildlife!

    1. I love that quote too…we love our fox and he has returned once…I secretly hope he would jump the fence for the juicy voles in the garden…terrible of me…sorry to hear about your snow…we are 2/3 melted with some dusting now and then…

  6. Hi Donna, What detailed imagination you have! You even have the fox named. LOL! Looks like they will be coming true for you soon.

  8. I read a book once called something like “Is there a writer in you?”, apparently one of the symptoms is a proneness to day-dreaming.

  10. Wonderful imagination. Wake-up first, i am inviting you to see our perennially blooming gardens in the tropics, haha. I have a series of orchids post for those of you still under snow! BTW, what did you use in making those collages, i love them. I only use picasa and that style is not there. haha, thanks.

    1. I am loving your orchid posts…I use the website Picnik.com…I paid for the membership which I think you have to do to use more features like collage….it is like a photoshop program online where you can fix photos, add special features and make collages…check it out for free 1st and see what you think.

  12. Lovely of you to share with us your thoughts…I believe that every action we take has its beginnings in our visualization of what we want to do, so carry on dreaming – day and night, and your dreams will materialize. The tough part for me is the ‘taking action’ part. 🙂
    Rosie

    1. How sweet you are Rosie..thank you for such encouraging words…my problem is in the doing as well since my head is forever in the clouds daydreaming…

  13. Imagination is the seed of design and so much goes on in our heads before pen hits paper – or hand moves the mouse these days :- ). Great to see the juxtaposition of winter and spring shots!

  14. Silly groundhogs–here’s hoping you thaw out soon! And just think, when we’re dying of heatstroke in Central Texas in September, you’ll be enjoying lovely crisp fall weather. Happy (imaginary) GBBD!

    1. Thanks for visiting today Caroline…you are right it is funny how we all have our glad moments with weather and not so happy ones…I know we will be complaining too about the heat and humidity soon…

  15. Donna, you have composed this post so cleverly. I love seeing the winter shots with the views of the growing garden. I think you are right about this winter. Even though we got less snow than last year and it was over earlier, it is colder and plants are farther behind. Carolyn

    1. Thx Carolyn…glad you enjoyed it…I have been surveying they garden and while lots is growing nothing is blooming….lots of vole damage

  16. Imagination, what a powerful tool, when needed! it’s a very nice colage you have done and I guess it helps the waiting of the warmer days and blooms to come! Lula

    1. Thanks Lula…such a nice compliment from a brilliant photographer….it does help pass the time until we see some flowers…

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