I want spring! I’m tired of snow, I’m tired of cold, and I am definitely tired of the brown and gray landscape. As I wait impatiently for a glimpse of green, a memory from my childhood comes to mind. My family sold vegetables from our garden every summer, which would be a version of today’s farmer’s markets, I guess. Goodness, you get cold fingers planting row after row of potatoes and onions in the early spring! If I told my mom that I now think of that spring ritual with fondness, she would be very surprised because I complained nonstop while I was doing it.

While we are waiting, I thought I would mention some new gardening books coming soon to the library. First up, “The Flower-Powered Garden” will inspire you with new ideas for colorful flower combinations to spruce up your borders and containers. Author Andy Vernon shares 15 color combinations for gardens, some of which are inspired by sherbet and candy, so you can almost imagine how colorful his ideas are. This is a beautiful book, not to be missed!

The cover on “Raised Bed Revolution: Build It, Fill It, Plant It, Garden Anywhere” by Tara Nolan caught my attention. It shows a raised garden bed with built-in benches on the outside so you can sit while doing your gardening. What a great idea! And beyond the cover you will find everything you need to know to get started with raised bed gardening. It is packed with design ideas and gardening wisdom for all.

If you are an organic gardening enthusiast, you may want to put your name on the hold list for Deborah Martin’s “Rodale’s Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Green Resource for Every Gardener” This popular guide has been revised and updated for 2018 to include the latest practices and techniques for your organic gardening.

For all the mushroom hunters out there, make sure you check out “Untamed Mushrooms: From Field to Table, a Midwestern Guide.” Take a walk in the woods with author Michael Karns and learn valuable information along the way. With beautiful photographs and journal entries of his foraging, he will guide you through finding and cooking delicious local mushrooms.

Along with all of you, I’m anxiously waiting for spring to arrive, but I guess it will come on its own schedule. In the meantime you can think about past spring seasons, flip through some books, and make a plan for this one, once it comes.

“Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.” – Doug Larson