Garden Envy and Cups of Hope

Yes, there is such a thing, and I have a bad case of it. Judy, over at Patchwork Times has me drooling over her garden. That woman has the greenest thumb I've ever seen. She and Vince harvest huge amounts of produce from their garden ...all...year...long.

Yes, I know it is only March. and much too early to plant here, but we've had a few amazing days where the wind did not blow the stuffin out of you and my fingers were itching to play in the dirt.

When we moved here, people told me that gardens were hard to come by, but a few people have managed to grow one in town...kind of. Out here, it is a different story. I've got all the land in the world to play with, and dirt as far as the eye can see, but its not growing dirt, and far from garden dirt. It's good old desert dirt, and about the only thing that grows prolifically here is mesquite...lots and lots of mesquite. When it rains - the operative word here is WHEN - this country grows good grass for cattle. And the wind blows...a lot...and hard...for days on end.

Doesn't make for very friendly garden country. Still, I am nothing if not persistent and in years past - WHEN it does rain - I have had decent yields.

I bought  the Square Foot Gardening book and devoured it. I built boxes. I bought the components for Mel's magic mix. I brought home tons of garden dirt from the local seed store when they practically gave it away from bags that had broken. I started a compost pile. I hauled manure. I have glorious dirt...black gold...in those boxes. Great dirt. No vegetables.

Mel promised no weeds...or at least few weeds. Ha! I have one word: wind, Mel. Wind. The wind blows every single seed I have not planted into those boxes. However, I really don't mind weeding. I love spending time out in my garden.

I water religiously, but we don't have great water out here and I am here to tell you that the lack of rain is the biggest problem. We average about 11" of rain annually out here, and the past 3 years, we've been lucky to get 5. It's been tough. Really tough. When it does rain, my garden actually transforms overnight. It's a sight to behold! Alas, it is a rare occurrence.

So I present to you, my little cups of hope:

In a few weeks these little cups will be bursting with healthy, green, new life. They will be happy. I will be happy. I hope they'll forgive me for taking them out into the cruel world, where their chance of survival will not be pretty.

However, I'll tough it out. I refuse to give in. I will not be swayed. Where there's a will, there's a way. And where there is rain...there is a garden... that in the beginning...is filled with hope.