harvest of light

this image is haunting my dreams of late.

a profusion of spring flowers dances in my head.

when dh and i moved to our farm house...we

were trying to change our lives in many ways.

we wanted our children a little more grounded

in what is important...not just stuff. we are all still

learning. this is a book we bought when we moved out here.

it was so out of my realm of thinking...not any more.

i have always been a gardener but now things are different.

i am letting the land speak to me of what would be best.

there's an approach to the natural.

this book has been a wealth of knowledge...i am reading

all about medicinal herbs and planning what to plant.

i want to understand how to use these natural home remedies.

lemon balm...for the winter doldrums and insomnia

valerian...for insomnia(for two of my boys)

st. john's wort...for relief of stress or anxiety

calendula...perfectly designed for soothing and healing skin

lavender...has a long standing reputation for it's many health attributes

i am going to add those herbs this year

along with my kitchen herbs;

basil, oregano, parsley, chives...

also, since we are expanding the vegetable garden

i am reading up on what will be best companions

in the garden.

i will have a potager so we can resist pests as naturally as possible.

it will also entice all the friendly pest predators such as lady bugs, praying mantis,

lacewings, hoverflies, brandling worms, song thrushes, frogs and toads...etc...

we are also adding a wildflower field...this has always been a dream

of mine...to have my own field of wildflowers so i am going to try to

get as many native species as i can.

this book is coming in handy...images are grouped by

flower colours and by shapes. i find this very helpful...since i have

my favourites.

sow...today we started our seeds.

what fun to put your hand in the dirt even if it is only a little bit.

we started our heirloom tomatoes..zebras, pineapple,

and a small purple.

along with tomatillo, better boy hybrid, and early girl hybrid.

there are orange, red and green bell peppers.

dark opal purple basil, sweet basil, oregano,

and italian parsley for starters.

next are some firsts...that is for flowers...heirloom passion flower blue

a green zinnia called envy...bells of ireland

(they were in one of my daughter's wedding bouquet),

giant violet queen zinnia, yes it is purple.

lavender, calendula, white marigolds, cottage red marigolds, black hollyhocks,

and purple salvia are going in next.

i don't know about you but this definitely

beats the winter blues.