Garden Dreaming

I've spent a good part of my day garden dreaming.

Maybe it's that pesky Mother Nature, trying to trick me into believing that Spring is just around the bend with our 50 degree temps today.

Maybe it's because I'm taking on that perpetually house-bound feeling...the feeling that I shall never again feel grass beneath my toes. The feeling that my skin will never lose its late-January pallor. The feeling that my fingernails are destined to remain forever clean.

Most likely, it's because I recently saw It's Complicated and fell in love with her house, yes, but mostly with her garden.

That garden renewed my belief that heirloom tomatoes can and will grow prolifically on my vines this year. (Nevermind the fact that a newspaper article spilled the beans that they actually wired spotless, perfectly ripened beauties to the vine. God bless Hollywood.)

That garden, so intoxicatingly, achingly lush and orderly and vibrant, made me believe that with the right basket in my hand, my garden will fall right into line around me.

At first I thought I needed to find the sun hat, too, then I remembered that I already have a sun hat. And it was a birthday gift from Anthro, so it's got to be right.

Here's a shot of my garden from last year, its inaugural year:


Here are the additions I'm envisioning:

Seriously, if I were Meryl Streep, I would have only signed on to this movie under the condition that I could move into the house and spend the rest of my days tending to the garden. (I would have had the basket written into the contract, too, naturally. And maybe Jack Donaghy?)

I found this fantastic bent-wood edging on a plantation tour in Charleston last Spring and I fell in love.

I'm thinking this inexpensive, white wire edging would look perfectly farm-cottage lining each of our raised beds.

And what farm would be complete without a miniature windmill?

I'm also envisioning an entire box dedicated to a cutting garden. Swoon!

Oh, and worm-free tomatoes.

Come on, May! I'm itching to get my hands on you.

PS - Swoony Corn and Potato chowder recipe is now posted here (at the bottom of the post). I implore all of you to try it. Even little people love it.