MariGOLD Bonanza

When you're in North Idaho in March, this looks mighty good. The best part is these blossoms come from seed I collected from plants last fall.

So, is that called sustainable?

I don't know, but the continued efforts to grow things and grow them even better than the past year keeps me motivated.

I look at other people's gardens and marvel at their green thumbs. Some gardeners have the knack to just look at seedlings of any kind and they'll grow into magnificent plants.

I have to work at it.

Things are progressing, though, and to see these little buds of gold popping out every day does wonders for my soul.

I'm thinking of sowing a few more of my thousands of marigold seeds into pots in hopes of having hundreds of plants to spread around this place.

When we moved here, we were blessed with a phenomenal landscaping situation---thanks to the vision and work of previous owners.

The place is parklike, to say the least. One would never know it now with all the brown patches of yet-to-turn green lawn spreading every day as more snow melts and yielding up hundreds of dog droppings from a long winter.

Once the snow leaves, however, my yard provides potential for magnificent beauty and more than enough work.

I love it, though, and to see beginnings inside my house, like those bursting marigold blossoms, sustains me like nothing else. I love to work in my yard, and I love to add to my garden, all the time, knowing I'm just creating more work.

But this kind of daily work is my personal reward at the end of a long winter.

On this early spring day with no rain or snow, I'm more than anxious to start digging into sod with a spade, pounding winter-soaked dirt clods with a hoe, snipping garden bed edges with a weed eater, dragging hose from spot to spot to water plants and blissfully riding my Craftsman mower around for hours---- all for end-of-the day or early-morning walkabouts to admire each day's newfound natural beauty.

All of the above will have to wait a while.

For now, I'll have to be content to use my watering pots inside and each day look for signs of new gold popping from those young potted plants.