The Urge

Day 92: It is irresistible, the urge to plant and grow, and despite having had very little success even in the germination phase over the last several years, I refuse to throw in the towel. Three springs ago, I swore I wouldn't try to grow tomatoes again. Unseasonably hot weather alternating days near freezing was more than they could survive. My dill bolted. Lettuce didn't sprout. The cucumbers croaked, and I said, "That's it. Not doing this again!" But I did. The results in the two following years were almost identical, and I vowed to give up on vegetables again. Historically, I've had better luck with flowers than anything edible, but even the old faithful Gazanias failed to come through for me. I considered my source (usually reliable), and decided to shop elsewhere. So here it is, January, and the Burpee catalog arrived. A BIG catalog, not just a feeble flyer showing one or two varieties in each category. I don't like perusing web pages when I am in the mood to shop. Clicking from one page to another annoys me, but a paper catalog...well, let's just say there's a good reason they used to call them "wish books." Burpee was my breakfast and dinner reading, and I soon found myself thinking about peppers and posies, never mind that I've never successfully grown a pepper of any sort. There was one in particular called "Pot-a-peño,"  good for growing in containers. I have reasonably good luck growing things in containers, and the thought of making my very own jalapeño poppers was more than I could resist. And then I spotted a dwarf form of Bells of Ireland. I've never been able to grow the full-sized variety, but maybe a dwarf would be better. I added it to the list, along with Painted Daisies (in lieu of Gazanias, which they didn't offer). I mean, daisies are something anybody can grow, right? That was as far as I would allow myself to go with the "wish book," but I'm sure when starts begin showing up in the garden stores, I'll cave in and get a tomato or two.