Spring is one of my favorite times here in East Tennessee. As is summer (growing season), autumn (fall color), and winter (still warm enough to be outside). Unlike every other area in which we’ve ever lived, I can’t say there’s a season I dislike here. But oh, spring.
Spring is for planning and, as the earth warms, putting those plans in motion. It’s for watching the sleeping plants shake themselves awake. It’s for explosions of colors, and riot of birdsong. And it’s for remembering the feel of the bare grass under your toes, of course.
All of those things are happening here, and I have to say that has made these past five weeks far more thrilling than they might have been should they have fallen in say, January and February.
After an unusually difficult search for seeds—has the entire nation suddenly discovered our favorite heirloom seed sources?— we’ve got a robust amount for planting and have settled on a much larger garden than we’d originally planned. It’s our hope to not only put a larger portion of our own produce on our daily table and preserve enough for our winter needs, but also to bless our friends and neighbors should the shortfalls in the local food supply continue into the summer.
Our asparagus patch has been producing beautifully this year. If you’ve never had the experience of growing your own asparagus, I highly recommend it. And not just because it’s one of my favorite vegetables! Asparagus is one of the most rewarding vegetables to grow simply because of its amazing daily growth. Seriously— it’s nearly comical. (Watch this video of a single day’s growth for proof.) We’re nowhere near full production in our first bed yet, and our second won’t be available for harvest until next year, but eating a few spears a day is enough to keep me happy during corona-tine.
By next week, we should have our first strawberries— and they look to be generous as well. Then the blueberries will come in, and every breakfast will feature a bowl of berries, or pancakes dotted with explosions of sweet-tart flavor. Not long after that we will be spending long mornings weeding and tending the garden and long evenings harvesting.
It’s a quick slide from spring to summer, after all. God gave us this waking up, stretching season in which to bask, I believe, in large part because of all the hard work ahead. Somehow it makes it all the sweeter.