Like many gardeners, I get so excited about gardening in February that I buy seed packets and dream about all the new life that I will welcome into the world. And then, like many gardeners, I don’t actually plant the seeds. I just keep them. I wait until June, buy plants started by experts, bring them home, and put them in the garden.
I’m pretty good at sprouting seeds, but keeping the plants alive in infancy–until they’re strong enough to live in the Garden of Eddy–is a major challenge for me, and I’m not a huge success. I mostly suck at it, to be honest.
In that way, I’m like Mother Nature; new lives are fragile and few enjoy long or easy lives. Even while new life is springing forth on every square inch of the garden, death and destruction are everywhere. If it isn’t a killing frost, it’s getting eaten to sustain the life of another…realities I have difficulty accepting, because I am disturbed by the idea that a living being suffers. I love the animals that live here, but I was quite upset at whoever dug around in my Marigold seed pot when I put them out on the patio to get some sun! I’ve kept watering it, but I don’t know if any seeds remain in the soil! It still upsets me when I have to dig up perennials that grow so well that they can overrun everything else. I always wish I could plant them in a new garden instead of laying them on the concrete driveway to dry and die. I remember when I first brought them here, and they struggled to get established, and I worried and fussed over them!
The Garden of Eddy is a mix of Michigan Natives, Perennials, Annuals, Shrubs, Trees, Herbs, Vegetables, along with a number of weeds, nuisances, and invasives. I garden for pollinators, for food, for friends, for land health, for education, for exercise, but more than anything, for beauty and peace. I have always loved coloring, and gardening is partly coloring for me. I cannot express in words the astonishment and delight I feel at seeing the zigzag lines of red (Tulip, Red Osier Dogwood, Japanese Maple) and yellow (Forsythia and Daffodils) and circles of purple and white (Violets, Grape Hyacinth) that are currently in bloom.
I celebrated six decades on Earth in February. I got out the gallon bag of seed packets and asked myself how long I thought I’d be around to plant them and what I was waiting for. I realized that if I was waiting for guaranteed success, I’d sooner die! I decided to “embrace the suck” and just start sprouting, while knowing that many lives would be lost in the process. The money’s spent, and the seeds aren’t getting more viable with age!
First I sprouted seeds in Sprouting Jars, but I only have two of them. Then I remembered the plastic bag method and started a bunch of seeds in them. Then I remembered that I bought a roll of plastic window screen to make my own sprouting containers a few years ago but never did it. I rolled it out, cut a bunch of squares, and started sprouting in jars. Soon, it was Seed City around here!
One day while scrolling the socials, another gardener mentioned trying to propagate a shrub. I had forgotten about propagating! Now I have successfully propagated and planted a Red Osier Dogwood, and I am attempting to propagate Cherry, Winterberry, Forsythia, Willow, Hemlock, Redbud, and a shrub I can’t ID that has cute coral-colored flowers.
While Winter and Spring take turns ruling the days from February til May, the cold, wind, and rain drives me indoors, but I just keep gardening. I plant an onion, because a Youtuber showed me that I could have fresh, container-grown Onions year-round and stop buying them from a store. Let’s see! Someone else shows how to sprout an Avocado pit; I sprouted two that are in pots now, and a third one is sprouting in water on the sill. Someone has a pot in the basement with Tomato sprouts in it, because she planted slices last fall. I didn’t overwinter seeds in pots, but I have some frozen tomato slices in the freezer. I grab a couple of pots, fill them with soil, and plant a frozen Valencia slice in each. Maybe they’ll sprout! Let’s see!
In February, I planted a few things outdoors, in “greenhouses” of overturned plastic boxes. Everything sprouted, but I wasn’t totally consistent with watering, and we’re supposed to have our last frost of the year this week, so everything didn’t survive. Radish and Cilantro did, though, and I’m happy about it!
A couple of weeks ago, I had some store-bought Russet potatoes that were sprouting in the package, so I planted them. Last week I planted Spinach and Lettuce under the boxes, and they’re sprouting. I also planted some Blue Seed Potatoes. I planted Red Cabbage seeds outdoors and indoors; they both sprouted, but the outdoor sprouts seem to have failed from cold exposure or by a pounding rain. The indoor sprouts are very tiny and cute in their re-purposed yogurt containers; they’re about the size of a pea!
In the Greek myth, Persephone, goddess of Spring, must be rescued from the Underworld by her mother, Demeter. When Mother and Child are reunited, the whole living world celebrates and bursts forth with new life.
On the other hand, the story reminds us of death. When I think of death, I hope it comes quickly, like the heart attacks that have taken a few of my loved ones. I think about the likelihood, which is quite high, that I’ll be dying alone, and I wonder how long it will take for my corpse to be discovered. When I think about my corpse, one thing I know for certain is that I’d like for it to decompose naturally after being “planted” in the soil of Mother Earth, like a seed. I hope my body can do what I love one last time and build the soil.
I’m not fooled by Spring. I know I’m not Persephone. I know I’m mortal, but when I plant a seed and new life sprouts, I touch immortality. Until I’m underground, I hope to be like Demeter and usher forth new life each year.
lisa eddy (she/her) is a writer, outdoor educator, and musician.
Email: lisagay.eddy1@gmail.com
Link to lisa’s FREE online book: Write Outside: Investigations of the Living Land
Citizen Teacher 
BradSharp2
April 24, 2024
Good stuff, ms. eddy. Thank you!! Brad
LikeLiked by 1 person
mseddy
April 24, 2024
Thank you!
LikeLike