Solstice Sowing

Seven years ago I unearthed a group of people as crazy about gardening as I was. Wintersowers. Long Island gardener Trudi Davidoff created a system for wintersowing using recycled containers for mini-greenhouses that resulted in a loyal following from across the country. They reside on GardenWeb with their own forum http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/wtrsow/ and on Trudi's Wintersown.org site that followed http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/index.html.

In celebration of the winter solstice, Trudi invites wintersowers to sow four sets of seeds on the day of the year that marks the lengthening of daylight hours:

• Remembrance - seeds that remind us of someone we knew but who is no longer with us


• Life - seeds for plants that will provide nectar for birds and butterflies in our gardens


• Mother Nature - seeds to produce trees that will clean our air and give shade to the soil and us


• Faith - seeds for plants that are beyond our zone in warmth and represent our belief in the power that Mother Nature possesses to produce miracles.

I have records of seeds sown for the winter solstice dating back to December 21, 2002. And the seeds I've sown today are similar to those I sowed seven years ago.

• Remembrance - Eschscholzia californica 'California Poppy' for my California grandmothers


• Life - Buddleia 'Butterfly Bush' seeds collected off my parents' bush


• Mother Nature - Ornamental maple seeds collected from around our cottage last Christmas in Ontario


• Faith - Salvia coccinea 'Texas Hummingbird Sage' hardy to zone 7

To take time to celebrate the solstice in this reflective manner on the day of the year when the light begins to lengthen again is an investment in memories as well as in what lies ahead. Time well spent.