Onion Lore and the Winter Ahead

 

Onion skins very thin, mild winter coming in;

Onion skins thick and tough, coming winter cold and rough.

~ Old English proverb

Beauty, talent and virtue, the aromatic onion has it all.

The onion is the world’s most commonly eaten vegetable and, perhaps, one of the most

Perspective Changes Everything

Just a few weeks ago, the day was bright and warm, with winter a distant, shadowy thing over the horizon.

Overnight last night, 16 inches of heavy, wet snow fell,

From the Shadows of Winter

Here in the northeast, winters are long and hard. By all accounts, last winter was tougher and longer than most. Most agree that it’s now, finally, behind us. After nearly six months of snow–86 inches of it–we’re ready to exchange our snow shovels for garden spades. Not a moment too soon.

Winter Worries

It’s that time of year, when gardeners’ thoughts turn to spring planting. Sorting through last year’s leftover seeds, leafing through seed and plant catalogs that seem to arrive daily and maybe even placing orders all offer the hope of hastening winter’s retreat.

This year, in these parts, it could be a long retreat. With somewhere upwards of 28 inches of snow on the ground, my garden sleeps, enjoying protection from the winter winds. My house is cozy and warm, too. Winter offers the opportunity to focus on other things that aren’t so easy to get to during the long days of summer, when the list of outdoor chores grows as fast as the garden weeds.

Putting the Garden to Bed and Expectations to Rest

The work of putting my garden to bed this year has been less than efficient. I’ve plugged away at it, in fits and starts, focusing first on the tasks that simply had to get done before snow flies. Which, by the way, has (technically) already happened.

Gardening, for me, is all about adjusting my expectations as I go along. Prioritizing.

In the springtime, my dreams are spectacular—health and vitality, variety, neat and tidy—my garden has it all. A couple of months later, by late June, I’m running to keep up with dividing perennials, transplanting, thinning, composting, mulching and, yes, the weeding. Always the weeding.