How To Plot The Perfect 2012 Gardening Resolutions - 3

Finally, always keep something in the kitty for unexpected opportunities. Readers familiar with the story of my Kwan Yin statue (click here) will not be surprised to hear that one of this year’s Christmas presents to ourselves was a carved stone entwined fish fountain that I’ve been looking at for three or four years. Now that the front garden is protected by deer fence, the fountain has a major role to play there.

We also purchased a sitting female Buddha made of volcanic rock. Her appearance is so serene that she has yet to make it outdoors into the garden. For the time being, she rests in a spot that I pass multiple times per day, reminding me to meditate, breathe deeply, and relax.

For us, the next big project is an experiment in growing vegetables in the Grow Camp a hybrid between a cold frame and a full-fledged greenhouse. As much as I’ve always wanted one, a greenhouse just doesn’t seem practical and I balk at the idea of having another house to keep clean and bug-free. This should keep me busy, rotating cold-weather and warm-weather “crops” and seeing how far into the fall we can still harvest fresh veggies.

We’ll re-evaluate the spot we initially chose for the new fish fountain and, if it’s the right one, get it up and running.

There are still lots of cedar trees to be moved out of my flower bed and into the woods inside the deer fence, to provide a visual screen. We’ll assess the progress of the roses, clematis, and sea holly that we planted in front of the propane screen and, later in the season, get back to our mass bulb planting project along the driveway.

Seems like more than enough for one growing season.

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