New Year’s gardening resolutions

The onset of the New Year has found me traveling down south, to loiter and unwind and kayak. Solutions to problems are found there, irrational thoughts exposed, and new challenges invented. My occasional bouts with incivility dissolve to make room for calmer introspection.

“What is consuming you?” an interested party might ask. And in reply, I readily admit that I am facing the peculiar dilemma of dealing with New Year’s gardening resolutions.

I will strive to be more creative yet show restraint in my new gardening year. It isn’t necessary to attempt to plant every new rose or every new hybrid within the confines of my garden. I will also listen to the suggestions of other gardeners, particularly the holy trio of Catharine, Jana and Carole, to ensure my garden’s greatest potential.

Gardening produces magic for many of us because it allows for mood adjustment and freshness of thought. Rather than waiting to garden because I need therapy, this coming year I resolve to enjoy my garden more often -- and play chase and sniff the catnip with my cats.

I will be more inclined to follow the advice of my late father, Pete, who always espoused the virtues of planting from the fall until the spring. I will try not to plant as much during the heat of the summer. I will mulch my perennials monthly and keep a sharper eye out for weeds.

Many gardeners practice only one kind of horticulture and cannot be persuaded to try any other. Beginning in January, I will grow more herbs and vegetables for Catharine’s consumption. Although the color from flowers is indeed rewarding, why grow only flowers and eat frozen vegetables or market produce three days removed from real freshness?

I will remember to plant my pumpkins in early May, as I promised my wife that we would find a suitable candidate for her famous pumpkin cornbread for next year’s holidays. And of course, we’ll need a jack-o’-lantern to light our doorway for Halloween.

And in the end, sweet Catharine and I will spend the last night of the year in each other’s warmth. We’ll toast one another and make unspoken resolutions. I can guess hers. It is not to make more money, be in better shape or even dream of travel in Kenya. Quite simply, she will be saying silently, “This year I shall grow better tomatoes than Steve!” I know, because at that very moment, I am thinking exactly the same about her. See you next time.

* Steve Kawaratani is happily married to local writer Catharine Cooper and has two cats. He can be reached at (949) 497-2438 or plantman2@mac.com.

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