Reluctance
“For when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason,
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
To bow and accept the end
Of a love or a season?” -Reluctance, Robert Frost
If you, like me, live in the chilly north, your garden is probably empty and covered or the last straggling potatoes and onions are waiting to be rescued from the first hard frost. It’s early to get the winter blues, but we all know they are coming. In garden speak, we ought to nip it in the bud. To tide you over and kick that cabin fever, its time to start your indoor growing. Its surprising what will survive and even thrive during winter months in a small planter or hanging basket. House plants have served a multitude of purposes over the centuries both in northern climates where outdoor growing seasons are short and for urban dwellers where space is limited. Supplementing kitchen gardens with potted herb gardens and medicinal plants has been popular since Roman times and potting flowers and decorative grasses hails from ancient Persia.
Today’s houseplants still serve the same purposes, though the plants grown may have changed. Who doesn’t remember slicing open an aloe leaf from an indoor plant at least once to sooth a kitchen burn or bee sting? With popular interest rising in both gourmet cooking and in knowing exactly where household food comes from, many homes have started both indoor and outdoor herb and vegetable gardens to supplement what can be found in the grocery store. Current research shows that caring for houseplants, the aromas especially of flowering herbs and brightly blooming flowers all have a positive effect on seasonal mood disorders, and even clean shockingly large amounts of harmful toxins from indoor air.
Whether you start with just one miniature tea rose plant in a styrofoam cup (as I did years ago) or surround your house with trays and baskets of green plants, the benefits of growing indoors can truly lift those winter blues.
Here at the Garden Gab, we’ll be doing our own indoor gardening, trying different plants, lights and pots. We’ll let you know how our garden is growing and we hope you will leave us a note and let us know how yours is coming too. Or even better, send us a picture of your plants in their interior home to dk.gould@live.com and we’ll proudly post them here at the Garden Gab!
