The Northeast is in the midst of a huge Nor’easter today.  Hard to believe I had the opportunity to spend two days outdoors this week where the temps hit the low 50’s. I took advantage of the sunny days to clean up my flower and vegetable garden from all the debris I missed back in the Fall.  Snow and ice are covering the ground, but my thoughts are on starting some of my seeds this weekend. Playing in the dirt just makes me happy!

The time outdoors inspired me to revamp some of my garden plans and take inventory of the seeds I had and still need to purchase.  There’s nothing better, in the middle of winter, on a wet and dreary day, than to sit surrounded by seed packets and catalogs and plan for the gardening season ahead.  I was able to calculate all of the seed starting and transplant times and mark my day planner accordingly.  But before the fun of seed shopping and planting begins, I always start with my end of season list that I compile while doing the end of season clean up.

This list includes what worked, what didn’t, what needs further protection or replacement.  Although my garden in under 8 years old, I’m finding that there are quite a few items that need replacement.  One is a storage unit I used to hold all of my seed starting trays and plastic pots.  Mother Nature had her way with it and it’s far beyond repair at this point. I’ll need to figure out a new way to store those trays and pots and perhaps a new location will be a part of this year’s planning.

Also included in this year’s planning will be the restructuring of my two central raised beds and the wood structure I had my husband build a few years ago.  The structure in the center of the two beds didn’t work out the way I planned for vertical growing plants and instead I’d like to focus on keeping one bed specifically for herbs I use for cooking, medicinal uses, and oil infusions.

I’ve begun a list of chores to start once I get the garden cleared of that old storage shed and any other debris that I missed back in November.  Included in that will be to have some aged organic compost delivered early so I can begin spreading it throughout the planting area.  I haven’t had much luck with cold season growing yet, so the compost should have enough time before I work it into the rest of the soil. The slightly warmer and sunnier days will be filled with cutting back the canes of the raspberry bushes and cleaning and sharpening my tools

Once my to-do lists was complete, I sat down to review my garden maps from previous years to make sure that I’m rotating crops and maximizing the space available to me.  Now comes the fun part – looking for inspiration.  Of course, I love Pinterest to peruse all the creative new ideas I can add to my outdoor spaces and my favorite websites for new and trendy gardening gadgets I want to add to my supplies.   Checking out my favorite local greenhouse to see what they’re offering this year is a day trip for me! I’ve been supporting the same greenhouse for over 25 years!

Topping the list of projects will be hooking up the rain barrel we purchased last season and creating some garden art from the flea market finds I’ve been collecting.  Here are a few of my top ideas on Pinterest.

My top new tools and gadgets include a harvest apron (it’s not really a need, just an “I really want one!” kind of item,? a new mushroom knife, and these really awesome garden gloves from Womanswork!

So although it may be cold and bitter outside, I’m warm and toasty and have Springtime on my mind!

Sowing  Sunday living in a weekday world.

I hope you enjoyed your visit here today.  If you did, please share your thoughts in the comments below or share on social media using the hashtag #gardenerstouch.