The longer and brighter days are now encouraging us to “think spring”! We can get our feet wet for gardening with ‘Seedy Saturday’on Saturday, February 22, from 11 a.m. till 4 p.m. at Dreambuilders School at SIGN on Broadway. There will be seed vendors and exchange, kid’s area, and more. You can get your local organic garden seeds here.
Then, mark the date on your calendar: the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will be holding their next meeting on Wednesday, March 18, 7 p.m. at SIGN on North Street. It will be nice to get together and “talk gardening” again!
When I was at the library, browsing through the gardening books, I also found some interesting books on hygge. Okay, first: pronunciation. Hygge is pronounced “hue-guh”. It is a Scandinavian word for a feeling of contentment, coziness and well-being. The concept talks about caring for ourselves and the ones we love, being comfortable and enjoying simple pleasures. While hygge is often applied to getting over the long, cold winter months, it is more than that; it’s a way of thinking and living that can apply to any season. The books that I was reading on hygge talk about enjoyment of nature and being outdoors, and I found this especially interesting for us, as gardeners.
With spring just around the corner (one month away, on March 19), we are all thinking just a little bit (!) about our upcoming gardens. While we enjoy thinking about what we will plant and how we organize our containers, we are probably also thinking about the enjoyment of being in our gardens and connecting with nature. That’s our hygge as gardeners.
You know that I take a garden tour every day, even in the winter. At first you might think, what’s there to see out there in the winter? You’d be surprised! There is a lot of beauty in the winter garden. The colors and textures of the bark on the trees and shrubs. The gnarled branches, surviving through all kinds of weather, are a thing of beauty. The various perennials with seed heads when they are sparkling with a dusting of snow or hoarfrost. The lemon stems of the dogwood are bright and cheery in the snowdrifts. The patterns that the wind makes in the snow can be breath-taking, and are especially lovely when there are tiny little bird tracks trailing across a delicate sweep of snow.
In the other seasons, before I start my day, I sit on our patio for a few minutes and take it all in: the colors, the smells, the melody of the birds darting around the feeder. For just a few minutes, before I start doing anything, I just sit there and “be”. When hygge talks about “contentment” and “peace of mind”, I think that we, as gardeners, must be enjoying a very special aspect of hygge.
It is something to consider as we start to plan for our gardening year: what plants will bring us the most enjoyment in our yards or on our decks? Do we want bright pops of color with annuals, the satisfaction of growing edibles (even in containers), or the restful delights of perennials and greenery? Maybe a mixture of all of these. If we are ordering any seeds from those exciting new seed catalogues, let’s make a pact to try one new thing! I can picture Sweet Pea sitting at her kitchen table, browsing through the seed catalogues, pen in hand, order forms ready. The look of pure enjoyment on her face was something I will never forget!
By the way, I noticed on the City events calendar that there will be a hygge session at the WDM on Saturday, March 7 at 2:00 p.m. Sounds very interesting!
Have a contented and hygge week!
