Spring Training

KCB is a professional gardener and friend who does wonderful work in the Greater Portland area. KCB is also an accredited Master Gardener by the Cooperative Extension Service and we are honored to have KCB as part of our Skillin's Garden Log family!

Eighteen in the win column and one in the loss are not bad statistics, that is unless the one is the most critical game of the year.

Not since the 6th game of the 1986 World Series have I felt this way. I remember crying uncontrollably when that ball rolled right thru Bill Buckner’s leg. This was pretty surprising as I was not a sports fan.

This past Sunday night I so wanted to sob that way again, but I couldn’t. I was not on a comfortable couch at home surrounded by loved ones. I was at work in the lunch room surrounded by nodding acquaintances from the call center I call ‘my winter life’.

Mutterings such as ‘it was all for nothing’, ‘it all came down to this game’,’ If only’, ‘what went wrong?’ echoed. Six months worth of games gone in 35 seconds. As my co-workers filed out of the somber room to return to work stations, or as in my case, home, hearts were heavy. Desperate whispers of ‘there is always next year’ passed between a few. For others the countdown to spring training cast new hope, the start of NASCAR offered light to others.

What does any of this have to do with gardening? To me, everything has to do with gardening. Some of you may be nodding in agreement. Gardeners do not measure their efforts in innings, quarters or halfs, yet we await our seasons with the same gusto as any sports fanatic.

We have our ‘what went wrong?’ and ‘if onlys' and ‘next years’. We’ve suffered our loosing seasons when winter’s fury could render a generation of roses or rhododendrons useless. I still mourn my small field of lavender that was lost to a frigid winter 5 years ago. Not quite the 1986 World Series, yet not far from the 42nd Superbowl.

There have been rainouts and droughts that hinder our season. While we shake our heads we shake our selves off and start all over again. Waiting until next year is just too long.

The difference between the most formidable athlete or fan and a gardener is that we do not lose faith over one shrub that strikes out or a perennial border that doesn’t reach its goal. We prune, transplant and even replace several times during a season. We dream of next year but never loose sight of the season at hand. There are times we’ve had to punt or simply aim for another goal to make everything work.


Within our gardens we need not focus on one game. We have the power to stage events any place we see fit. It need not be all or nothing. A garden that flourishes is full of second strings. If a specimen planting doesn’t make the cut, we need not bench the whole bed. As coach we do not fire ourselves.


Still reeling with the ‘maybe next year hangover’ from the Patriot’s loss, I took solace the only way I could, a walk. Much to my 4 legged companion’s chagrin, the walk was cut short due to an outbreak of ‘Garden Trance’. Yes, the malady that affects so many. Staring endlessly at a once and future garden. Recently buried by snow, these patches of dormancy unfold. We can not pass by without stopping to search for any signs of new life. Seconds drift to minutes and moments pass as we stare. Is that green? Are those pink buds? Let the games begin……….

KCB
for Skillin's Greenhouses
February 4, 2008