Quit with the face, it’ll come back. Sheesh.
I think that winter is misunderstood.
One of the best things about the changing seasons is that you get the opportunity to plan for new things in the garden. Surprising things. Beautiful things. Or yummy things. The fact is that we need the down months of winter. Our gardens are always growing, moving, producing, and evolving in one way or another no matter what type or style.
At one point last year you may have hit a wall or two and found that it was it impossible to keep up with the weeds, or deadheading, or overgrowth, or the harvest. Did you really find enough people to take all that zucchini? Or maybe the armloads of flowers you brought into the house didn’t leave any blooms to dress up the garden.
The garden isn’t the only thing that needs the quiet time of the cold months. Winter offers the clean slate that we need to take a look at the bare bones and reassess. It gives us the rest that we need to collect our dreams and ideas and bind them together with some tangible planning. We need time to think and time to make plans.
I’ve got some killer plans.
1. Our first project is a brand-spanking new veggie garden — no small feat, I assure you. The bazillion deer alone are a force to be reckoned with. Since we just moved to hawk Hill last June, we weren’t able to wrap our minds around a proper vegetable garden. I just drug some over-grown, root-bound tomato plants and peppers with me popped them into the rock-hard soil. I refused to plant them back at our old place because probably a non-gardener would move in and waste my darlings. Heathens.
2. The hill-tiered garden that we stuck the scraggly veggie plants in last year will be a lovely (and my largest) herb garden. I refer to this garden as “the potager”, pronounced “POT-u-jer”. Which is, by the way, completely incorrect pronunciation of this word. It’s more French than that. But hey, my garden; my rules.
3. I saved my coolest plan for last. If you don’t like fiber or fabric, you can move on now. Cuz’ this will bore you to death. But if you’re a crafter…oh yeah, you’re going to be so pleased. I’m planting a dyer’s garden. What is a dyer’s garden? It’s badass, awesome, and totally on the cutting edge — that’s what it is. It’ll be a garden of plants whose flowers, stems, or roots can be used to dye fabrics, yarns, and other goodies.
This is not a sheep.
Plus, Betty White lets me spin her fiber, so there’s that.
Top those plans. Go on, I’ll wait.
*Oh, and for those who are still saying “potager” over and over, here’s the correct pronunciation of “potager”
(You have no idea how hard it was to resist adding “Dude” to that post title)
~ Dead plant photo by Yours truly, Chris McLaughlin
~ Calendula photo by Audreyjm529
~ Betty White (Angora goat) photo was taken by Hollis McLaughlin
Hi Chris happy to have a chance to visit your blog love your post and know I’ll be checking in again Annie
I just love your site. Yes, you did save the best for last. I’ve been thinking about getting an angora goat but I hear goats like to be in pairs. How many goats do you have? How much fiber does one goat produce? Do you send the fiber out to be spun or do you spin it yourself?
Hi Sarah,
Goats really do need other goat company in order to be happy and thrive. They’re a herd animal and only truly feel safe when they’re in a group. Although I have only one Angora, I also have two Nigerian Dwarfs named Travis and Phoebe. Betty White (the Angora) is extremely docile & the smaller goats are perfect friends for her. As far as production — all Angoras produce differently, but because they produce so much, they’re shorn twice a year. This makes them the most efficient fiber animal in the world. I have yet to get my first fiber from Betty White, but I do get wool from other people and Angora rabbit from my bunnies & I spin it myself.
So glad that you stopped by!
Well our gardens are now be covered with a thick layer of the white stuff, looks so pure. I find winter a great time for me to learn more things about gardening before I discover them through trial and error.