by Sheryl Normandeau, Community Garden Director
The arrival of the month of March means that the spring equinox is just around the corner. You’ll know the gardeners from the non-gardeners by their giddy demeanor and the shopping carts filled with potting soil, plant pots, and packages of seeds. This is a month of planning and dreaming, and in some cases, putting some seeds in the soil and parking them under grow lights or in a sunny windowsill.
I inevitably end up in the garden centre spinning displays of seeds, thinking about trying new-to-me tomato varieties or wondering if I should buy yet another package of sweet pea seeds even though I already have a dozen at home. This is also the month that I attend Calgary’s Seedy Saturday, an annual event that brings gardeners together to swap and buy and sell regionally-grown seeds and chat about all things plant-related. This is also the time that I haul all those seed packages out from every nook and cranny in my storage room and sort them. It feels like digging through a treasure trove!
My seed packages connect me to places: the garden bed at my previous home where I grew parsley, thyme, dill, and garlic between the beautiful perennial flowers or the balcony that was completely overgrown with massive tomato plants with the tiniest, sweetest-tasting fruit. Seeds bring back memories: the package of white radish seeds that were given to me by a friend who has now passed away, the alpine strawberry seeds that my Mum tucked into a birthday gift a few years ago. Seeds have stories and it’s a delight to pore through them each spring.
The Somerset Bridlewood Community Garden is celebrating this month of spring planning by hosting speaker Janet Melrose as she offers tips for getting your garden off to a great start in 2023. Everyone is welcome to attend – please check our Facebook page for registration details.
