Dreams from the Veggie Catalogues

Have just spent a happy two days with the stack of garden catalogues that has accumulated on my desk over the holidays, and have formulated a Grand Plan for a vegetable garden come summertime. This will be my most ambitious attempt at veggies, and I am prepared to sacrifice plants in the large perennial garden -- mostly because I am not happy with that garden, and am willing to ruthlessly move or toss plants. Mostly, I am going to remove the Knockout rose that someone gave me a couple of years ago and which I dislike immensely. It occupies a large space and cuts off sun to other things without giving me much in return. The flowers are pretty but not useful for bouquets for the house, nor particularly decorative in the garden. I think these plants would be great massed along the highway where their flowers would be bright but not subject to close scrutiny. So -- out it goes. Sorry, Cecelia, it died. Don't know whether it was the drought or the cold ... or the gardener's neglect, but it's gone.

Then, lots and lots of lovely practical things. Ichiban eggplant and Totem tomatoes, Red Sails lettuce and Thumbelina carrots and Trionfo Violetto pole beans, and fingerling potatoes (I hope -- never grew potatoes before), and Cippolini onions, and dill and basil and big tomatoes too, like Big Beef and Early Girl and Costoluto Genovese. And probably an in-house revolt at being required to eat vegetables at three meals a day in order to use it all up. I should be so lucky! Pictures later, when things get going.