{the gardening itch}

Every January, when everything in the garden is asleep, my gardening genes kick in. Johnny's Selected Seeds catalog

comes in the mail and I start dreaming about my summer garden. In the cold, grey days of January, I forget about the 

almost unbearable heat and humidity of July and August, when I am so sick of my garden {except harvesting those 

luscious heirloom tomatoes} that I won't even go outside during the day unless absolutely necessary. I forget how tired 

and drained the temperatures make me feel, low energy keeping me from one of the things I love the most.

All I can think about now is how beautiful everything is when it bursts forth and blooms, everything turning lovely 

shades of green and every color of the rainbow. The smell of dirt, the feeling of earth between my fingers; it's enough to 

make me giddy. We are fortunate here in North Carolina to be blessed with a long springtime; beautiful, warm days 

without the humidity that will later make us question why we live in the south.

I thought I'd share a few pictures of my garden with you today, a reminder of warmer days to come...