What I look forward to the most:
- Observing the awakening of outdoor plants in the spring - emergence of flowering bulbs, swelling buds, the mystery of which perennials make it and which don't - and where they will appear
- Watching the many seeds I plant emerge, recording the various observations - germination percentage, different leaf shapes and colors
- Raking the winter debris off of the flower beds once the weather warms a bit and the amazement of how fast the plants emerge
- Pruning the shrubs appropriately for the coming season
- Transplanting the zillions of seedlings into 4 inch pots (really! very therapeutic, a good time to catch up on music)
- Daily walks through the yard with Sue to see the daily progress
- Making the decision on what to grow (reading through seed catalogs and my past plant diaries) and ordering and hunting down all of the seeds
- Planting the seedling flats
- Going around the yard and picking up the tree branches and pine cones that fall throughout the winter
- Erecting or fixing the various fences to keep deer out of our growing areas - actually, everything about doing battle with the deer and other critters (most recently, moles/voles!)
- Digging the garden rows, weeding, pounding in the plant stakes
- Writing out the plant tags for the zillion plants
- Cleaning the garage, unloading the truck with the mass planting goods