Well we're back to where we started on this one: windowsills. The first winter resident moves in. Hyssop...or soapwort, they both have the same leaf shape and until it gets biggerI won't be able to tell if it has an upright habit (hyssop) or prostrate (soapwort) I really should label when I start two similar looking plants shouldn't I. I've got some more st. johns wort, feverfew, and I forget what else that can come to work. Starting perennials in winter worked fantastically well for me last year, I believe I had a close to 100% survival rate in the ground. No waiting for them to catch up to the weeds. As soon as the soil was decent, they were in and already dominating the scene.
As much as I love vegetable gardening (and I still say landscaping with your stomach is the way to go) There is something intrinsically beautiful and mysterious about setting up a miniature ecosystem of sorts that renews itself each year without human intervention. Odd how that as winter comes and producing food becomes impossible (this year at least) My thoughts tend to drift on the elements of my grand plan which have little to do with eating. I still have plenty of space to fill in the "sanctuary"and I dream of the day when I will have to do for the rest of the flora what I did for the sage this year...that is trim and tie and otherwise make room for its neighbors.
This may be entirely too crunchy for the room but there is a certain visceral joy after spending 8 hours under florescent lights that one gets with just a few moments in nature or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Be it the smell of the creeping thyme and lavender, or the occasional nibble of basil or lemon balm. I will miss that during the winter, but spending time improving the experience will make it worthwhile.
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