COLORFUL BENEFITS

March 28, 2016February 8, 2016 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ Leave a comment

The poems collected in my volume, There is no statuary in our garden except for the plastic spacemen occasionally surfacing, come together as a set of field notes of my experiences, especially, in reclaiming the city lot where we live. We have a small kitchen garden on one side of the house and a larger one, “the swamp,” on the other. The lessons never seem to end.

the garden looks great, so luxurious to have cut flowers indoors
a second sprig of laurel in my lair
against the deep velvet of Siberian iris
now we’re sinking to detail …

a bucket of strawberries, to the office

For more on my poetry collection and others, click here.

REFLECTING ON MY COLLECTED ROSES

March 24, 2016February 27, 2016 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

How long ago these events seem!

Yet, they still bloom.

Even through winter.

~*~

For my poetry collection and others, click here.

JUST WAITING TO SHOW OFF

March 17, 2016January 30, 2016 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

As the snow melts away, you look. Intensely. At the openings. Find snowdrops already blossoming. And then all the rest that’s been active.

~*~

For more on the book and others, click here.

GOT THOSE SEEDLINGS GOING YET?

March 15, 2016January 30, 2016 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 4 Comments

It’s potting-soil time and then the shelves with the grow lights.

We know we’re in good company, and it’s fun to swap tales. Any advice for the novices, for starters? Or what’s the worst advice you got along the way?

WHERE DO YOU ORDER YOUR SEEDS?

March 14, 2016January 30, 2016 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 3 Comments

Yes, we know all about the catalogs and the pondering that happens each January, along with the flurry of ordering. If you’re a gardener, you’ve wrapped all that up and have the seed packets in hand.

So where are your favorite sources? And why?

And if you need inspiration or simply want company or comfort, consider the experiences in these poems:

For more on my poetry collection and others, click here.

GATHER ‘ROUND, FAMILY AND FRIENDS

January 30, 2016December 8, 2015 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 1 Comment

This set of poems celebrates ways food draws us together as family and friends.

We do more at the table, of course, than simply eat.

Sometimes we read. Or roll out dough, when the counter’s full. Or wrap presents.

It’s the heart of the room that’s the heart of the home.

Shall we gather?

~*~

For your own copy, click here.

TURNING THE PAGE FOR ANOTHER ANNUAL RITUAL

January 7, 2016January 4, 2016 ~ Jnana Hodson ~ 2 Comments

Now that the Christmas season’s over, we’re getting out the seed catalogs. Gardeners know what this means. Traditionally, they start coming in the mail about now, although some seed companies have tried to jump the gun, just like the Christmas decorations and music that now proliferate around Halloween rather than Thanksgiving. No, don’t rush us. This is to be taken thoughtfully, leisurely. Now, in the depth of winter — especially when it’s bitterly cold and snowy in places like the one where we live — our imaginations fly off to springtime and high summer. We evaluate the new varieties we ordered last year to decide whether we’ll get more (if we used up all of last year’s packet) or we’ll try something different.

Some of the catalogs are simply gorgeous. Others, including our favorite, are black-and-white and photo-free. The descriptions are fun to read and have led us to delightful harvests.

One thing I know: we’ll be ordering a certain chard we tried last year. The one that doesn’t taste like beets. No, it’s much more like spinach and so much more reliable where we live. Just don’t ask me to reveal its name. We want to make sure the supplier doesn’t run out. It’s something that happens, you know. As I recall, last year it was a kind of early pea. And before that?

It’s all part of the ritual, I suppose. Along with the intricate maps of our garden my wife draws to determine just how to fit it all in.