This weekend was garden weekend, but we got totally sidelined by the weather. Saturday was actually pretty nice, although it started out rainy. It eventually cleared, and we headed out to Home Depot for bags of soil and some lumber, then over to Van Wilgen’s for plants (and a little fertilizer). When we got home, we brought the plants inside and set them up in their temporary quarters in the downstairs bathroom.

Come Sunday, and the day was gloriously sunny, but cold. And windy. Windy enough that we unsurprisingly lost power for a little while in the afternoon. Jim spent the better part of the morning assembling a really nice 4 x 4 raised bed for the herbs. We’ve situated it right behind the garage, where it’ll get the fullest amount of sun during the day. It was so cold out that we ended up closing windows and actually turning the furnace on when the temperature in the house plummeted to 60 degrees (the cats were even complaining), and I began to have second and third thoughts about taking the plants outdoors. Not long afterward, Jim got an email from Van Wilgen’s warning customers that there was a frost warning in effect for early morning and that plants that weren’t in the ground yet should be brought indoors, or covered up if that wasn’t possible.

So my instincts were good (this time). The plants are still in the bathroom (where they’re thriving, actually), and we’re expecting more cold weather tonight. And rain on Wednesday. With a little luck, we’ll be able to plant them this weekend.

So here’s the game plan: I’ve ordered two Earthboxes, into which will go four varieties of tomato plants (two in each box). Those will go out on the deck. Into the herb garden will go two kinds of basil (Italian and Thai), two kinds of mint (spearmint and mini-mojito, because what the heck), dill, parsley, rosemary, and lavender. Into the big vegetable garden will go two kinds of lettuce (romaine and mesclun mix), eggplant, yellow squash, peppers (hot and otherwise), and cucumbers. I’m going back to the garden center this week to see if they have any Japanese eggplant to add to the Black Beauty I got.

Now if this season’s weather would only cooperate…