Far From Spring, But Hope Blooms Eternal

It's cold!  The wood burning stove is working overtime....every time I open the door to toss in more wood, great billows of smoke come, well, billowing out.  I am permanently infused with the scent of wood smoke (not such a bad scent).

I really shouldn't complain - for up here on the Cumberland Plateau, we are getting "dustings", while the rest of my friends in the Northeast are getting "hammered".  Still, I am finding the way to cope with the ice and cold is to dream about our garden, which I can actually start in March.

Last year, I rented a garden space 40'x40', and was totally underprepared and overwhelmed. The space is one of many out by our stables...nestled in a valley where the Smokies loom in the background...not the Rockies, but a gentler range.

This was taken last autumn, which is the view from across the road from the gardens...Couldn't be more lovely.

 
  Sadly, I was the "Blanche DuBois" of the gardens...my rototiller was loaned and very old..the type that had to be started by pulling on a cord..which, of course, wouldn't start...So, kind gentlemen would start it for me...I would till a few rows, it would die, they would help...it just got to be silly.  I ended up with some very braze Zinnias, Glads, some peppers, tomatoes, and a billion weeds...Not that I am a novice gardener, for I did have a wonderful, 4,000 square-foot garden in Wisconsin....I just didn't have enough (read husband) help. 

This year, my friend, Caroline, who is a dynamo, is going to split the space with me...We are going to get a "big-girl" rototiller, and with the two of us, I do hope we can be much more successful.

 As I look out over our lake, watching the Canadian Geese float on the frigid waters, I dream of all the wonderful vegetables, herbs and flowers we will plant....

Actually, I have never posted an image that wasn't photographed by me, but I do so love vintage seed packets...

One of my favorites I grew in Wisconsin were Sweet Peas...Of course, our growing season was much shorter there (but the soil was so rich)...Here, we can actually start planting in March!  I make teepees, and tie the vines up...The fragrance of a bunch of sweet peas is wonderful...

These are "Dwarf Naturtiums", but I love the large ones...They are wonderful in salads, with a peppery flavor, and are just beautiful!

This was our garden in Wisconsin...the flowers up front, the herbs, and then, all the vegetables..

Oh, I miss pulling a warm tomato off the vine, and taking a bite...(I don't use pesticides)... can't wait to plant Cherokee Tomatoes, which legend has it that the seeds were dropped along the "Trail of Tears" (actually, the Cherokee called it the "Trail Where We Cried")...

Caroline and I sat at her kitchen table last week, sleet pounding the windows, and made a list; basil, peppers, zukes, dill, sunflowers, and all things that make a salad - 

 I cannot wait to have a cutting garden once again!

   For now, I will gaze at the images, and hope that those of you, who just came in from plowing the driveway for the tenth time today, or shoveling the snow off the roof, will enjoy dreaming oa a time when the gardens will bloom once more!

 And yes, these photos are all from my garden...and, please and thank you, ask for permission to use them...