h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*helps herself to some salad and adds some of the lovely vinaigrette*

In Sweden, you wouldn't be able to plant *anything* outdoors on Valentine's Day, unless we were having an extremely warm winter - the ground will still be frozen in February...

I do like these articles - they create a sense of comfiness, peace, down-to-earth kind of feeling!

January is normally our coldest month. I think that gardeners all have one thing in common - we're always anxious to get going. So we push the planting dates. When we do this we take the chance of losing our plants, so I try to curb my enthusiam and wait until the weather is actually warm enough. In the long run it works out better.

If you prepare your bed in the fall you can get away with planting earlier, too. My salad bed is actually a round pyramid garden that was designed to grow strawberries. This makes it easier for me to get a few things out early since the ground doesn't need a lot of attention. I just loosen the soil with a hand trowel, add some compost and am ready to go.

Do you have community gardens in Stockholm? I've read about them in some of the large cities. They take vacant lots and divide them into small garden plots. Apartment dwellers can lease a garden plot for a small amount - $15 per year or something like that - and then they can grow vegetables or flowers or whatever they want. I think that sounds like a great idea.

H

Community gardens are *very* common in Swedish cities - some of the lots are big enough to actually house a small cottage. The pieces of land are called 'colony lots' for some reason, and those with a building 'colony cottages'...

There is a fan-shaped lot just below my balcony - it's quite calming to look at people digging and weeding while I'm leaning on the railing...

One of the 'gardeners' has a good eye for flowers - there is *always* something blooming in his lot whether it's very early in the spring or late in the autumn...

I glad you are close enough to one to enjoy it. I've never lived anyplace where they have them, but I have lived in an apartment and nearly went crazy not having anyplace to dig. I had every windowsill filled with pots so that helped.

Have you ever thought about having a plot yourself?

I have actually been thinking about it, but I've had some doubts of my ability to keep it up - getting inspirated happens so easily, but the question is for how would I be able to keep it going, considering how I've been neglecting the very hardy plants I've got in my flat?

I've started so many projects in a rush of inspiration, projects that I've never carried through, projects that I've neglected and given up on...

Besides, I don't know much about gardening - teaming up with someone might be a good idea... *ponders*