March came in like a lion this year. The weather was cold and rain poured down all night. I sat inside my cozy little book room and chose to focus on the spring that is just around the corner. I ordered flowers in purple, red, yellow, and bright pink and then chose seeds–zinnias, hollyhocks, poppies, and Johnny Jump Ups–to fill the blank spaces in my perennial garden with splashes of color. The Johnny Jump Ups are in memory of my father’s mother, who always had them in her yard. I still remember her stooping down to point them out, telling me what those tiny little purple and yellow flowers were called.

Every year all those who know me learn how much I enjoy my garden. My husband digs holes and lugs big bags of compost around for me. My children patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) listen as I tell them the latest thing I’ve planted, how my rose bush is doing, and what’s blooming today. My rose bush is a continual source of amusement to my family as it causes me the most delight and angst every year.

I have had many gardens over the years. Presently I grow mostly flowers and herbs. In the past, I’ve had a large vegetable garden and potted plants on a fire escape, raised beds with herbs, and a tiny patch with a lavender bush and some annuals. Each garden has taught me lessons about patience, failure, hard work, and delight.

I consider myself blessed to have a lot of room at my house for growing things. I had never attempted a perennial border before, and the learning process has been steep and long. I’ve had spectacular successes and enormous failures. Even after carefully choosing plants and shrubs according to the amount of sunlight and type of soil, I didn’t always account for the variables to found within even a hundred feet of garden beds.

The joy of growing things, of watching seeds and tiny plants shoot up and flourish, of smelling the sweetness of flowers and herbs, and of feeding birds, butterflies, and bees more than makes up for the dead plants and difficulties involved.

Do you have a potted plant, an herb bed, a vegetable garden, or any other growing things at your home? If you do, please share with us what you grow. If you don’t, is a garden something you’ve dreamed of planting? I’d love to hear about your dreams and your plants.