Reigniting Old Passions in the Garden!

As spring is warming the Earth, the coming month of May brings Beltane. Beltane is a Celtic word which means 'fires of bel'. It is a fire festival that celebrates the coming of summer and the fertility of the coming year. This is commonly held on May 1st and is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and is associated with important events in Irish mythology. Rituals were performed to protect the cattle, crops and people, and to encourage growth.

With more and more people staying at home amidst the pandemic, gardening has become a huge way people are coping with isolation and food insecurity. I have been reminded of my passion for the garden I had many years ago. I used to get all excited and down in the dirt planting whatever I could when I was younger. Now I am older and looking to rekindle a passion in hopes to bring positive energies, herbs, fruits and vegetables to fruition.

Looking for ways to move around and stay mobile while isolating at home has been difficult especially when you rarely leave, but not impossible. There are many little seedlings working hard growing so I can transplant them in the garden this year and it will be getting me up and moving for sure!

Loving to learn new things and becoming even more self-sufficient has taken hold! So far I have a plethora of seeds germinating in my planting trays waiting to be let out into the garden. Everything from Basil, Sage, Bergamot, Echinacea, Wild Strawberries to St John's Wort and feverfew. This is definitely not all that I have. Promise!

Next project on the list before I can let them out into the garden is planning out the area that they'll call their home. Over the winter we had a very very huge ice and snow storm. Mainly ice and wind versus snow, but this meant that the absolutely gigantic maple that shelters my home lost some limbs during the scuffle. Instead of having these huge branches taken away let's use them to make the raised planting beds needed for the new year's garden along with the huge stack of wooden planks from the backyard porch that was taken up before winter. It's going to take some hard work and my partner has been helping with the building part, yet completely worth it.

Along with the Mint, Red Clover, Nasturtiums and Safflower germinating in the wings waiting to be planted in a few weeks I will definitely keep you posted!