After The Frost
It’s been a long while since I’ve thought about my garden in any active sense. Once fall comes and the plants all need to come out, there’s not much to do but peek and see what survives. Plus life happens and sometimes our priorities shift. But I was out there this afternoon, enjoying the rare bit of Oregon winter sunshine, surveying the aftermath of several days of snow and ice. I was pleased to see that, despite some cosmetic damage from the snow and falling branches, our fennel - a plant I’m particularly attached to as it was grown from seed harvested from last year’s plant - is bright green and thriving, despite being fully encased in snow for several days.
Similarly, our arugula and cilantro are none the worse for wear, if a little droopy from growing long in the stalk. They did have a small sheet of protective fabric over them, but not enough to really have much effect. A strange fuzzy type of pea that I “gathered” from a neighborhood garden seems to be enjoying the cold, it only began to thrive once the winter months started, and has since been continuing to flourish even after being completely submerged in snow and ice.
Other signs of spring are beginning to emerge, including my favorite telltale sign: the hops beginning to send up new runners. I dug up the small patch of needles and pinecones that have accumulated around the base of the hops and saw a few baby runners just beginning to poke out. This sort of return to life is a consistent source of joy for me, and I couldn’t be more pleased.
After needing to look a bit more closely to find the hop sprouts, I looked more closely at my other plants as well, and a saw that the chocolate mint has already spread significantly, even if the initial trimming of it I planted is still looking harried. Mint grows like a weed in the Pacific Northwest and honestly, I’ll take all the plant victories I can, even if it’s over an otherwise invasive species.
As usual, the oregano is hale and hearty, growing up under the dead stalks of its last attempt to go to seed. The marjoram is looking similarly. And of course, who can get enough of all that moss? I sure can’t.
Lastly, I was happy to see that the lavender and rosemary plants we established in the mud along the side of the house is enduring, even through the onslaught of ice, snow, poor soil conditions, invasive bulbs, and otherwise a whole mess of weeds.
Today is a good day.
