We are in full swing with the planting season now.  Everyone is purchasing scads of plant material and addressing concerns of problems from previous growing seasons.  The goal seems to be the same.  We are satisfying our need to therapeutically immerse our hands into the soil, making something beautiful and magical occur.  This is an uncontrollable urge for many of us, arriving as surely as the days grow longer in the spring.  I believe that humans are driven by the hope and faith that all things in the garden will grow well.

    Some years ago, Anne Murray had a top hit song stating, “It sure would be good to hear a little good news today.”  “...nobody got robbed in liquor store today...”  And so forth.  I have preached of the negative effects of our local drought.  Socrates once stated in a commencement speech, “This generation is going to hell in a hand basket (or something to that effect)."  Our local water supplies are low, yet we still seem to be functioning very well and moving forward.  We are sure that our gardens will give us the results needed to carry on.  If things were so bad, we would have quit years ago.

    As our weekly garden column plunges towards its 100th issue, I am reminded that a friend of mine, who is a columnist for the local newspaper, told me at my beginning, “It’s not the first column that stumps you, but the 100th.”  I think there are about four types of columns.  One is the my nuts & bolts,  “Why are my roots rotting?” column.  The second is the “Featured Plant of the Week” column, which helps in your planning and our sales.  The third is the “Opinionated People in the Landscape Are Just That” column, which clearly throws me into that category by my mere objection to such views.  Lastly, there is the “Philosophical Column” that is a niche in which I have lately been indulging.  Multiple personalities unbridled!

    The point of this column is that things in the garden seem to be moving along very nicely in spite of all its trials and tribulations.  Additionally, while we might be focusing on our immediate gardening problems, we seem to be moving forward as though everything will be fine.  Indeed things usually are fine in the end.  We garden with enthusiasm because we must, for we seem to know that the act of gardening is good for our souls.

    I sure hope this column is not a sign that my columnist friend is right about the “100th Column Freeze”.   We’ll see this summer.  Until next week.