OUTSIDE: Sowing, Reaping

There are few outdoor activities as therapeutic as gardening. While one can get great joy from seeing plants one buys grow – inside or outside – there’s a singular pleasure is sowing wildflower seeds in tilled, weeded soil, then waiting for some rain to hit and see what comes up. It’s both cheaper, and it’s more mysterious – you never know what’s going to sprout and take root. These are, in essence, what some gardeners like to call “volunteers” – plants, usually flowers, a gardener wants, but that grew up on their own. And an added bonus is that volunteers often prove more hardy than store-bought plants, because they’ve already established they can call the soil home.

There’s no better time than the present to get some seeds in the soil if you want to see them bloom into flowers by the spring. Know that the plants haven’t been treated with any pesticides that might harm pollinators, which are an essential part of the ecosystem often taken for granted. It’s easy: just clear out a patch a soil and amend it with compost if necessary, do some tilling and spread the seeds, then push them under the soil with your fingertips so they don’t become birdfeed. Let the rains hit, and when the sun comes out again you will start watching your seeds spring to life. The experience is uniquely gratifying. Seed packets – native plants are best – are available most anywhere that plants are sold. Beauty awaits you. [DS]