I have had tomatoes, basil etc for many years. The year before last, we took out a grassy area in the "courtyard", rented a tiller, bought lots of topsoil and compost and put in a garden. Everyone laughed, as I drew up a "to scale" drawing and layed out the garden in anticipation of the spring planting. When I planted last year, I probably changed things 5 times. Again, this winter, I layed out a "to scale" drawing, and again, I changed things 5 times. It's coming along. The herbs are starting to look like an English cottage garden. The vegetables are at home. It is a happy place. Will it ever be finished? No way!!

For as long as I can take it, and usually every day. Sometimes 15 minutes, sometimes 3-4 hours total, but that would be in several spurts with breaks, maybe a meal in between. That would include everything from pulling whatever weeds I see, to watering, to grooming/deadheading, fixing stray grass coming through a border, fertilizing. All of this stuff I really think of as puttering, not working, because I like doing it. Most of my perennials are shrubs or other plants that don't need much done to them. There are the occasional heavy chores that are actual work, but they're fairly rare and well spaced. I no longer have to do the mowing, so that's made a HUGE difference in time and effort spent elsewhere. I find this has me tackling more tougher tasks more often, trying things I wouldn't have felt like I had time for before. Awesome! But, I can't go at it like I used to in my younger years. I still get asked for my ID but if you look closely, you'll see the gray hairs, bifocals, arthritic thumbs. Don't think I'll ever acclimate to the oppressive heat down here although I prefer to live here. Thank God for A/C! Going outside in summer here is like going outside in winter up north. If you stay too long, it could kill ya.

Gardening here is pretty much year round, depending on the weather. If it's too hot, too cold, too rainy; if there's snow, I don't get out much in the garden; otherwise, I work through the seasons. This fall I did have to lay out the positions of the major garden beds so that they could be plowed, which meant a lot of time with stakes and flagging tape. Fall is generally the best time to shift plants and to plant new arrivals. This year it looks as though we are going to get all our roses and shrubs in by Christmas: a great achievement. With the mild autumn we've had I've been able to do most of my weeding and mulching, but haven't been able to begin pruning: that will be the major winter task, along with continuing to catalog my roses. I plan sketchily, but leave a good deal to the inspiration--or desperation--of the moment. I don't plan more than the minimum necessary for the immediate task. I probably plan more in summer than in winter. I do work out more detailed small schemes as I go along, but have never been able, or willing, to plan and execute a large and complex plan. When I've attempted it the results weren't better then with my current method, and were a lot more tiring. It may be that I still haven't sufficiently mastered my materials, i.e. the plants, to be able to use them "fluently". I start a new area planting the major plants, then correcting mistakes the following year and beginning to fill in with smaller plants. I do sometimes draw plans, not much recently, possibly because the spaces I'm gardening in are irregular in form and sloping and don't lend themselves to this method of planning. I brainstorm writing lists of plants and writing down ideas. I read and think about plants and gardening all the time, reading mainly Internet and books. Catalogs are usually more tempting than honestly informative: the Vintage catalog is a huge exception (the Schultheis catalog is also extremely seductive). If the weather gets really bad and I'm stuck in the house, or if I simply get sick of gardening, I just do other things: read, cook, write letters, or go visit an art museum. When things get really desperate I clean house. Melissa

Here's my article titled SPRING HOSTA TIPS: Spring Hosta Tips The snow is melting and Spring is on the way. Youve been anxiously waiting for the chance to walk through your gardens and dream about the new plants youÂve ordered from your favorite mail order catalogs. And, you canÂt wait to put your gloves on and get your gardens cleaned up. Hold on. Tip #1: DonÂt remove that winter mulch until the last frost is gone. Early arrivals, like montana ÂAureomarginata may require additional protection from that late season cold and wind. When all danger of frost is past, then go for it. Get your rake and wheelbarrow. Tip #2: Thoroughly clean your gardens. All debris should be raked and added to the compost bin to eliminate a breeding ground for slugs. Be careful not to rake or step on the eyes that are just popping up to avoid damaging the leaves which are about to unfold. Are your plants in good shape? Tip #3: Look to see if the frost has heaved your plants out of the ground- especially young hostas which were planted last year. As the ground freezes and thaws, freezes and thaws, and freezes and thaws (get the idea?), those plants may need to be tucked in on several occasions. Can your friends easily read those plant labels? Or has the name tag completely disappeared? Tip #4: Make sure all plants, including new arrivals, are accurately labeled and the tags are in good condition. Remember that large hostas will cover up name tags that are too close to the mound. Perhaps you have trees and shrubs which need to be pruned. Tip #5: Spring is the best time to prune most trees, and shrubs after flowering. Those branches which are dead, or make it too shady, should be cut off cleanly, chipped up, and added to the compost bin or reserved for a woodchip path. That pile of leaves, garden waste, and grass clippings from last Fall should be flipped over now. Tip #6: Turn over your compost pile. You may want to add a little sand. The warm, rainy weather will turn all that stuff into black gold. Then when those hot summer days reach 70 or 80 degrees, apply that free mulch around the base of your plants. How is your supply of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides? Tip #7: Take an inventory of your gardening supplies- tools, gloves, hoses, sprinklers, wheelbarrows, fencing, tomato cages, etc. Shop and replace worn out items now so that youÂre not stuck in the middle of a job. Spring is a great time to divide and transplant your hostas. Did you promise to give a hosta to a friend, or donate a plant for the hosta auction? You can create interest and educate others about gardening, and eventually turn your neighborhood into a hostaholic community. Tip #8: Spring is the best time to dig in your hosta bed. Review your garden records from last Fall to see which ones need your attention. How wonderful to see those long awaited hostas shoot up, bigger and stronger than the year before! Tip #9: DonÂt neglect to apply a slow release fertilizer. But donÂt over fertilize, and keep those granules off the newly emerging leaves, or crown, of the plants. Above all, enjoy the fresh Spring breeze, the chirp of the robins, and the signs of life as they appear, knowing that old man Winter is giving way to a new season of hosta gardening and fun everywhere!