by Linda Wiggen Kraft
Hope, happiness and love are perhaps the strongest positive emotional forces humans can experience. One of the ways to grow and nurture these feelings is to plant seeds in a garden, take care of them, watch them grow and reap the harvest of nourishment for body and soul.
Spring brings renewal to life. The quiet gathered during the winter transforms into the shouts of spring when the bright blossoms of flowers return. For most of us the return of living bright colors brings a joy and hope for newness in life. This time of year is also the time to sow seeds directly into the ground for an early cool weather garden of the year.
Planting seeds carries hope in the very act of placing them in soil. A tiny seed holds not only the genetic material of its parents, it carries the hope that life will grow into something beyond imagination from such a small start. When seeds germinate and grow there is a joy in watching that life emerge. A tenderness and desire to nurture that life becomes a love that helps the plant grow.
The newness of March is a time to begin planting cool weather gardens. Seeds can be sown directly into the ground. If the weather is below freezing and it snows, it is not a problem. In early March seeds that need a period of cold to germinate can be scattered on the ground. Poppies are some of my favorite flowers. I spread their seeds on the cool ground in late winter. By June their tafetta and chiffon like blooms thrill my heart.
In late March I also plant other cool weather flowers and vegetables. My list includes arugula, beets, carrots, calendula, chard, cilantro, collard greens, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard greens, nasturtiums, peas, radishes and spinach. One of the easiest ways to plant is with square foot gardening. The number of seeds planted per square foot depends on how large the plants grow. For example four seeds for lettuce fill out the space, nine for spinach and sixteen for carrots.
As the plants grow, with proper protection (in my case a wire fence to keep out the rabbits), watering and weeding; feelings of hope, happiness and love also grow.
And as the harvest of cool weather flowers and vegetables takes place starting in May, a new hope emerges for the hot weather miracles like vine ripened to tomatoes that will bring a new round of happiness and love for and from the garden.
Linda Wiggen Kraft is a landscape designer, mandala artist, photographer and meditation teacher. Her work can be seen on her website and blog: www.CreativityForTheSoul.com.
Visit Linda at the Healthy Planet Natural Living Expo, Sunday, March 10 in Webster Groves.