In January as always I bought the annual bags of organic raised-bed potting soil, and cultivated my patch for spring. Then on Valentine’s Day, the hardware store had a happy find: organic vegetable seeds marked for 2026. I bought two packets of sweet pea seeds, and planted one packet of 40 seeds on the last of February. Peas are an annual favorite because they grow so fast that it amuses the neighbors, especially the children, and their white flowers are so pretty. Even colder weather than ours doesn’t discourage peas, and in past years they always sprouted up happily after 10 days.

Well, this year the peas grew tiny sproutlets, but did not grow at all. Hm. In March I opened the second packet of peas, soaked them in several changes of fresh water for three days, then planted another 40 seeds. Not one came up. In April I bought two dozen pea plants six inches high each, and very carefully wound their little tendrils around the pea stakes prepared for them. Now pea tendrils will reach right out and catch hold of any close object, or will twine around the next pea plant. Every day I came out eagerly to check on them. But all 24 of these little guys did not grow one bit. Their little sprouts were not able to catch hold of their stakes at all. I kept visiting them morning and night, watering the patch, re-twining their sprouts every evening. But each morning they were all lying flat again.

Finally this week I decided that a garden is not meant to cause daily discouragement, so I tore up all the pea plants and placed them in the compost. After all the cultivation, soil amendment, and watering, here is one section of the patch today. The little white flower at bottom right is a volunteer from an oxalis shamrock bought at Trader Joe’s years ago. The little green plant at bottom left looks like a celery bunch tip that I buried a while back, and a few bits of oregano are just breaking ground. That’s the look of the whole 20 foot strip.

And now, on the same raised bed just a couple of feet away, is the Wing Family section. The Wings were very busy this spring, and had zero leisure to come outside with soil, cultivating, watering, or any other such fripparies. However, all winter Captain Wing has been carefully tending an industrial-sized drum of red wriggler worms, carefully feeding them delicious melon rinds and banana peels and other treats, then draining out the fertilizer fluid from a spigot at the bottom of the drum and pouring it on their garden patch. Did that make the difference, or is it just Wing Family good energy? Either way, everything in their patch returned from last year, poised to bloom: bluebells are in full glory, California Gold poppy plants are thick and green, Mrs. Wing’s medicinal herbs are doing their royal best, peonies and dahlias and lilies are showing early promise. Here below is a sample, with lush fennel, oregano, mint, and blooming calendula:

There is no point in feeling disheartened for long. Not only is it wise to bloom where we’re planted, but it’s also wise to align our dreams with reality as it is right now. This is our peak growing month right now. Perhaps at this stage some hot-weather or even xeriscaping plants would work with our dry summer? Maybe I can make a new beginning for a garden that is less of a public eyesore? Today there were marigold seeds in the garden section at the local Goodwill, so a packet came home with me. Hope springs eternal…