What a killjoy the weather can be. Still, it takes more than a late season blizzard to put the kibosh on our hopes and plans. I mean as visionaries, we gardeners can see and feel beyond nature’s little pranks.

            Isn’t that what we set out to do each spring? With our creative minds, earnest souls, and hardworking bodies we make things grow, tend them and harvest the results. I keep that in mind while rubbing my feet together to keep them warm. My fingers are busy writing a script for the growing season that is just around the corner.

            Somehow, I think writing this column makes me more thoughtful about my garden practices. I consider it an adventure just as gardening is a kind of adventure. It’s a bold, exciting undertaking with an outcome quite unknown and guaranteed to bring many joyful days in the execution.

            We hatch plans that in turn hatch more – all part of the adventure. Whether you take your first step with routine precision or a more serendipitous approach, here are ten ways to get started.

            1. Clean up the debris of winter, smoothing all the battle scars – branches, withered leaves and uneven soil and in my yard the displacement of shells from our driveway. In doing so you will have a preview of the shoots and buds marching toward the light. You’ll also get some good old-fashioned exercise and fresh air! A feel-good experience at many levels. I have my work cut out for me with many fallen limbs strewn that should provide many man hours of workout. (Rather than groaning, I’m putting a positive spin on the situation).

            2. Make a template for a new garden and map out the design – one with uplifting elements and your own unique tastes. Make haste – dig out the garden location and gently loosen the soil, careful not to over-till it, while allowing nutrients and oxygen in.

            3. Seeds glorious seeds! You can start seeds indoors in pots now until early April, aiming for 6-8 weeks before the last frost (late May). Start slow-growers like peppers and onions and some perennials now; tomatoes, cabbage, kale and herbs mid-to-late-March; and faster-growing vegetables like cucumbers, summer squash and melons in April. Use a seed starting mix and a heat mat or a radiator for initiating seed development. After the seedlings have sprouted give them six-plus hours of light from a sunny, south-facing window or grow lights. Move plants outdoors after the last frost (Memorial Day to be on the safe side).

            4. Invest in a cold frame to protect your vulnerable seedlings during the inconsistent spring nighttime temperatures. In a pinch you can cover seedlings with a garden cloche or an overturned bucket or pot, but cold frames are the best method of creating an area with stable temperature for giving seedlings a head start in spring. They also help see many cold hardy plants through the fall.

            5. If you are ordering plants online, remember to schedule it out for when the ground is warmer (above 40 degrees) and drier. The biggest mistake growers make is planting in cold and muddy soil. You’re usually safe with delivery in early May. Meanwhile get the beds ready and read up on the plants you intend to install.

            6. Sharpen your pruners and get going on Clematis jackmanii and C. Vitcella varieties. Old deciduous hedges should be hard pruned in spring where necessary and then fed well to encourage new growth. (We bought a 10-10-10 fertilizer today for that purpose). Keep off the spring- blooming trees – but prune roses when they bud out. It’s a good time to cut back fruit trees if you have not done so yet. Watch out for signs of frost damage, but don’t pull out a plant that appears to be dead. It may show signs of revival in early summer and can then be trimmed of any deadwood.

            7. Admittedly not the most exciting task, it’s time to turn the compost pile and burn the sticks and brush (be sure to get a permit). Provided it is dry, use some of that fresh compost and seasoned manure to top-dress your gardens. No need to dig it in, as you’ll disturb precious ecosystems. Nutrients added from the top will work their way down.

            8. Early spring is the best time to repair trellises and fences. Getting it done before plants begin to grow ensures that the structural elements are ready for the summer season. I always seem to have something that needs repair. [Note to self: reinstall two greenhouse windows that were blown out by the storm].

            9. When the garden finally defrosts and the soil crumbles it’s time to plant early spring vegetables. Normally I plant peas on St. Patrick’s day, but this year hasn’t been typical. Soggy soil won’t do. It’s not advisable to plant in wet, compacted soil, as the reduced aeration will hinder. But soon (if the weather doesn’t go bad again) I’ll put in some peas, spinach, lettuce and leeks.

            10. One absolute necessity for me this year is inventorying all the contents of my shed and greenhouse. It’s time to pare down. (I say that every year). I don’t know how things get disheveled out there, but they do. Chicken supplies, bee supplies, garden tools… I want to bring it back to a place of inspiration – a more peaceful space with a view of the grape vine. In the short window that is the growing season, we all need to keep organized. Perhaps this will give us more time to smell the roses.

            “I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose, I would always greet it in a garden.” – Ruth Stout.

The Seaside Gardener

Laura McLean

            Sunday, March 8 was International Women’s Day, a day for the observance of women, being a little over half of the population, and their struggle for rights, equity, and acknowledgement.

            For a non-female to say they do not know a woman who is an unstoppable force for change and betterment is an impossibility. Whether it be our mothers, family, friends, or neighbors, women still often serve from a position left underappreciated.

            They not only build us, but have also built our communities, while often forced into the shadows or lost pages of history. Though we all know of Cleopatra VII, what of the millions of women who assisted in the building of her empire?

            In our own communities, such as Marion, we often speak on Elizabeth Taber and her paramount role in shaping the town’s modern footprint. No Taber means no Town House, no Taber Library or Museum, no Marion Art Center, and no Tabor Academy. Among other things, without her and so many other dedicated women, there would be no Marion, at least not in any recognizable form.

            That is not to say Taber’s contribution saved Marion from being a dilapidated ruin,

but it would truly not be Marion as it is today.

            Following decades of charity and public service still blinding visible today, the widow would eventually be buried alongside her husband and children in Acushnet. Born Elizabeth Pitcher, her parents, Theophilus and Sarah Pitcher are both buried in Marion’s Evergreen Cemetery, along with some of her siblings.

            Back to the world stage, the international day of observance has an interesting, albeit surprising history and origin (it’s sort of like Labor Day). The first observation of a day for women being by the Socialist Party of America (now defunct) right after the turn of the century in 1909 where women’s rights and suffragette demonstrations were held in New York City on February 28. There were more widespread demonstrations in 1911, though the fighting of the Great War would silence many voices.

            Women in America would attain their right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, able to vote in their first federal election later that year with Warren G. Harding elected the 29th President.

            How we get to March 8 being an International Women’s Day came 13 years later, when Vladamir Lenin, first Premier of the Soviet Union, declared March 8, 1922, to be the first international day for celebrating women. The United Nations would accept and promote the day in 1977, making next year’s day the 50th widely observed.

By Sam Bishop