I love a good garden. 

Maybe it is because I was a landscaper at my college. Maybe it is because my parents and grandparents all had gardens growing up. Or maybe it's because I like fresh veggies. 

But whatever the reason, I love a good garden. 

And I have been rather...deprived, lately. 

You see, our garden patch has moved several times over the past few years. Environmental conditions are the main reason of course. Like, persistent fungi. Or depleted soil. And, well, it needs to be moved again. Because the maple tree is literally throwing shade on everything. 

And really, it needs to be out of Skye's reach. That dumb collie still thinks she's vegetarian, if not a ruminant. No green thing is safe with her. 

But moving a garden is a big operation, and despite our best efforts, it didn't happen last year. We got some volunteer tomatoes, a bumper crop of blueberries, and some herbs as a small consolation. 

I missed the garden, though. 

But do you know what really made me miss it? Growing my own oregano from seed. Those who follow me on Instagram already know this story. But for those who don't or missed it, I'll explain. 

I got this oregano seed-starting kit as part of my Easter basket in 2021. Admittedly, I never thought of myself as a "houseplant" person. This may be due to my mother, who had an unfortunate talent of, well, killing houseplants. She's even killed a cactus before, no joke. 

But I decided to try it out. I followed all the instructions, and...they sprouted! 

I was so excited. I felt more...feminine. It felt good to nurture something, even if it was a wee little green plant. 

The next few weeks, it stayed in its shiny baby pail. And with it came a few curveballs. Like, the fact that it would grow towards the window because of the light. Or when the leaves turned yellow for lack of phosphorous (or was it potash?). Thank goodness for fire pits, that's all I'll say. 

When it was eight weeks old, it had grown so big that it was spilling out of the pot. It was time to transplant it. Man, that was scary trying to break up all of those little plant roots. I was worried that it wouldn't take to the new big pot outside. But a good dose of rain cheered it up and soon it was thriving. I did get a cutting off of it before fall set in, and now I wait anxiously to see if it will survive the winter. 

But now...I have a seed-starting bug. And it has been itching for more seeds for quite some time. To give you an idea of how bad it is, I have revamped my old bullet journal to act as my garden companion (at least in part, anyway). And I bought a couple of small grow-lights. 

And in a really rebellious twist, I decided to buy my own seeds. 

I bought them from a small seed company called St. Clare's Heirloom Seeds, which is based in Wisconsin. I had seen them advertised a lot in LifeSiteNews, so I decided to check them out. While they are a smidgen more expensive than many other seed producers, St. Clare's is a small business run by a Catholic family. And frankly, I would rather support that than a huge commercial firm. 

St. Clare's also has another advantage: they specialize in open-pollinated and non-GMO crops. Being an agriculture graduate, I am rather appalled at the sheer amount of genetic engineering that is present in our food supply. And so, I've made the conscious decision to support open-pollinated and non-GMO whenever possible. 

I bought: 

I plan to start my spring vegetables in mid-March, probably after I get back from vacation. They'll probably be kept in my room, on top of my bookshelves. 

And once they're ready to be transplanted?

I plan on placing the herbs in a couple more of the pots outside. We do have a nice collection of herbs out there and I'd like to expand it. Better than growing weeds in the silly things. 

The rest? Well...I have my eye on a certain weedy patch that's in the side yard. My thought is to tear it up, and place some compost and topsoil in there. Hopefully, without getting caught and dissuaded *shifts eyes* 

I mean, if all else fails, there are plenty of pots around. I can even raise a couple of them inside if I *absolutely* have to. 

As it is, I need to stop over at Lowes one of these days to pick up some soil for my pots. Even dream gardens can't survive on thin air, you know. 

Lettuce hope this garden gets off the ground....*groans* 

May God bless you all, 

Catherine