C.K. Crigger: Garden catalogs a sign of coming spring

You might not think so from the look of my yard or the road outside my house, but spring really will be here one day soon.

The daylight hours are growing noticeably longer, and when the sun shines, what’s left of the snow compacts a little more. All we need is a good chinook wind, and we’ll be able to see grass again. The last time I saw it, the lawn was clear, still green. Bet it’ll be brown as doggy doo at the next showing. Well, mine will for certain. It’s had more than a month of two little dogs squatting on top the snow – and not liking it a bit.

This capricious, though entirely appropriate weather – it is winter, after all – only stirs my longing for spring. I bought a pink primrose the other day, and now it sits on the shelf above my sink as a promise of things to come. It won’t last long (primroses never do), but its cheerful bloom helps brighten these dark days.

Speaking of things to come, the garden catalogs began showing up in my mailbox around the first of the year. Gads! I love these catalogs, the more the merrier. The flowers, the veggies, the fruits … wahoo! I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the first batch of green beans, or let a raspberry practically dissolve on my tongue. I look forward to picking a bouquet of my own tulips and daffodils first, though, cut from bulbs I ordered from catalogs in previous years.

Gurneys, Parks, Henry Fields – they’re all good, but when it comes to vegetable seeds the one I order from most often is Burpee. The local stores just never have the same selection to choose from. A word of warning: don’t wait too long to place your order. Whoever you order from is apt to run out of the newest and best varieties.

I most often order online, but with the catalog I got in the mail open on the desk beside me. Here’s a bit of hard-earned wisdom: fill out the order form that comes in the catalog and add it all up first. If you just keep adding to the online form, you’re apt to receive a shock at the end. Those tiny packets of seeds can really add up. I remember the days when it was cheap to buy garden seeds. It’s not cheap any more, but the rewards of growing your own produce are still there. Nothing in this world is better than a home-grown tomato or cantaloupe.

As a bit of historical lore for newcomers, the Spokane Valley used to be famous for its truck gardens, and especially Heart of Gold cantaloupe. Yep. You can still get the seeds.

For bulbs I like Dutch Gardens. It has proven completely reliable over the years, is reasonably priced, and again, offers a selection not available locally. I have to restrain myself when placing orders. Oh, sure. The bill adds up pretty fast here, too, but the bigger problem is finding room to plant all the wonderful flowers. prairie moon peony, honeymoon lily, golden parade tulip … with names like these, how can anyone resist? And I haven’t even started on the roses, yet.

Oh, boy! I’m just bubbling over with enthusiasm – for now. In only a couple more months, my aching back may be saying something else, as gardening is always more work than I remember from the previous year. But when the hummingbirds come back around the first of May, voraciously feeding on their specially planted bright blooms, or when I pick the first tasty leaves of my favorite mesclun lettuce mix, it’ll absolutely be worth it.