Exploring the adult side of horticulture captivates even the acclaimed food enthusiast, Nigel Slater, as he finds himself enticed by risqué plant catalogues.
Gardening in winter is all about dreaming, my mate. The garden tools, including the fork and trowel, lie idle, while the rake remains woefully unwanted. It ain't exactly the gardening season, yeah? Most of the work's done in our heads, planning, scheming, daydreaming about a better, more beautiful garden.
And boy, do those catalogs ever bring the dreams. Each page is a trug-full of potential -- a sea of pastel-colored dahlias, feathery grasses, and hostas with leaves so perfect they make yours look like a hot mess. Every kitchen table should have a pile of gardening catalogs, a computer open to pages of perennials, and notebooks overflowing with lists. This wet, cold gardening's pure bliss, ain't it?
But it's not just about plants, no sir. I'm eyeing every copper spade, stone bird bath, and tiny greenhouse like they're my next best friend. Old library leather gardening gloves seem to call my name with every twist and turn of the page. Every advertisement's promising a better, more beautiful garden.
With all these opportunities, it's dazzling, ain't it? The chance to transform my current bed into a dream garden, but I'm stuck deciding which roses, used to my favorite cultivars, will get along and which will start fightin'. I've even gone so far as to rip out one of my beloved Cornus kousa to make room for my new dream garden. The newly prepared bed awaits my choice, but I'm in a pickle about how my favorites will mingle and coexist.
Images of other people's gardens can be a real downer, making me feel like I'm a failure, with spots on the dianthus, disheveled clematis, and a Verbena bonariensis that leans more like a drunken wedding guest than a perfect pyramid. I need to remind myself that gardens are never perfect, and that's just part of the charm, dude.
So, why do I love the catalogs that lack photography? Well, there's one in particular that does without a single pic, but delivers flavorful descriptions and snarky anecdotes that make me want to run to the nursery and buy every single thing. No fancy photos needed for that one.
This over-stimulation, this cacophony of color and texture, these fantasies and reality, are all part of the developing process of this space. No dream is too big or too small when it comes to planning my garden, and those catalogs, websites, and books are as much a part of my gardening life as my secateurs, rake, and spade. They're the fuel for my gardening passion, man. Dream on, my friend, dream on.
The dreams of a better garden are fueled by the extensive catalogs filled with diverse plants such as dahlias, grasses, and hostas, transforming every kitchen table into a planning station. Despite being winter, the garden is not just about plants; it extends to copper spades, stone bird baths, and tiny greenhouses, ultimately becoming an integral part of one's home-and-garden lifestyle. Gardening catalogs, websites, and books serve as essential elements in the gardening journey, igniting the passion to create dream gardens, regardless of their size.
