Garden dreams

Last week the weather here was unseasonably warm, feeling more like spring than mid-February. The warmth got me thinking about my garden and going through leftover packets of seed to see what I need to buy for the upcoming season. This week the cold weather returned with a vengeance, as if to say “not so fast” to my garden plans. But what better way to combat the chill than by planning what vegetables I will plant in my raised beds, and dreaming of the perennials that I planted last year waking up from their winter slumber. Fingers crossed that the Concord grape plants will return after the harsh winter.

I often go a little overboard when it comes to planting the garden, but I have never regretted it, especially since EYB and CookShelf exist to make sure I always have a recipe on hand no matter what kind of vegetable glut I’m facing. Books that I find helpful in this regard include Ruffage by Abra Berens, Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmberg, The Beekman 1802 Heirloom Vegetable Cookbook by Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Sandy Gluck, Vegetables from an Italian Garden by Charles Nardozzi, In Praise of Veg by Alice Zaslavsky, Leaf by Catherine Phipps, Onions Etcetera by Kate Winslow and Guy Ambrosino, and The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart (it doesn’t all have to be for cooking!).

Last year I picked up Martha Stewart’s Gardening Handbook: The Essential Guide to Designing, Planting, and Growing, and will be using that to help me plan not only my vegetable beds but also the other flowers, shrubs, and grasses in my yard. Since last year was extremely hectic as I started a new job, my gardens did not get the attention they needed. It might be time for some tough love to whip things back into shape. What are your garden plans and your go-to books for making use of the bounty?