And So It Begins...

Winters' fury has finally given way to spring.

A couple of days ago I went out back to sweep off the deck and noticed my chives had bounced back from our miserable winter.  The were sprouting through ugly leftover autumn leaves and dead weeds I had neglected to remove during last years garden clean-up. They were beautiful wisps in the gentle breeze. The beginning.

At brunch yesterday, while sipping bloody marys and mimosas, I mentioned my chive discovery to a dear friend. As it turned out, her garden chives were also sprouting. Had we been comic book characters at that moment, thought bubbles would have drifted over our heads whispering, "It might be time to plant our herbs and tomatoes!".  We share a wonderful comaraderie when it comes to growing herbs and tomatoes. In fact, our friendship actually began over  basil...or the lack of basil. We've been growing, sharing, and eating our harvests since that day.

Late last night she posted " twitpic.com/4bn86e - Spring!! Seeds are in the cold box. #Caprese! ".

 I was totally inspired. 

Baby steps. 

Today I started with herbs;  parsley, dill, thyme, oregano, and basil.  The seeds were so tiny when planted, they fell into the peat and disappeared. 

It's hard to believe they'll grow into anything.  It's not hard to anticipate the utter joy they'll bring down the road when they grace caprese salads, garnish soups, or become bouquet garnis for long braised dishes.  Last summer, I even deep-fried them into herbal stained-glass crackling finishes for buttered fresh corn. 

Herbs are the kitchen garden workhorses. 

I'm happy I finally planted mine

and thankful for the inspiration from our garden faerie princess.

So, it begins and  now we wait.   

Good things come to those who do.