This is the first article for my new Gardener Reflections series. I’m reflecting today on the chaos and insanity of spring when it comes to gardening, as well as how I am (trying) to keep up on the garden chores and what sparks joy for me right now in nature.

I’m hoping to occassionally get more personal and less ‘instructional’ here on my gardening website. Let me know in the comments below if you enjoyed reading this!

The Insanity of Spring: A Gardener’s Reflection

I had great plans for this website this spring. Like I do every spring season. There is an entire list of organized ideas of articles to write, and I also have a bunch of half-written articles in draft-mode. And yet….I don’t know when they will ever be posted.

I am currently laughing at myself for my ambitious writing plans. I mean, let’s face it: Spring is the CRAZIEST season for gardening! Why in the world did I think I could do spring gardening AND write new articles?!? 

How is spring season crazy? Let’s take a closer look…

Why Spring Season is Insane…

• I’m starting lots of seeds indoors. I’m a super organized gal, and it’s still SOOO hard to stay on track with seed starting. 
• I’m trying to clean up the fall/winter garden. I still have arugula, brussels sprouts, cabbage, collard greens, and mustard greens that need to be removed from the garden ASAP to make way for my spring crops. 
• I’m planting early spring vegetables, fruits, and flowers outside. I’ve got peas and spring arugula planted so far. I’ve got ordered berry bushes being delivered soon. I’ve started planting the earliest flowers, like sweet peas, allysum, delphiniums, etc.
• It’s already time to start weeding and adding scoops of compost to each vegetable bed. 

Yeah, four HUGE gardening tasks that are happening all at the same time. That’s the insanity of spring in the garden. It is so hard to find the balance between these four gardening tasks, too. How am I doing with it all? Well…

How I’m doing with the Insanity of Spring in the Garden…

• None of my seedlings died this year. That’s a first for me! I’m pretty happy about that. However, I am out of space and I’ve got more seeds to start this weekend, soo….I don’t know how that is going to go. Also I am 2 weeks behind schedule on seed starting (due to lack of space). 
• I haven’t cleared even ONE garden bed of winter crops. I’m getting a bit desperate over here and I’m running out of time. Everything is developing flowers, which means the leaves are getting more bitter. I NEED to harvest EVERYTHING!!! It’s got me a bit stressed out. There’s nothing worse than wasted produce for a gardener.
• The squirrels are ripping out my newly planted flowers. Grrr….silly squirrels forgetting where they put their food in the ground. Now I need to restart a bunch of flowers from seed in my no-space-seeding station indoors.
• I am THREE WEEKS behind schedule for planting potatoes. Oh my goodness, I don’t even know if it’s worth trying to grow potatoes this season anymore! I need to do this ASAP! 
• I haven’t finished the space for my berry bushes….and they are being delivered tomorrow. I also don’t have any soil for the raised beds for the berry bushes that are coming tomorrow. Sigh…
• Every garden bed is LOADED with weeds. My eye is already starting to twitch in anxiety at the sight of all those weeds.
• I haven’t finished my winter gardening projects. My flower trellis? Not assembled. My mulched garden path? Half finished. My steps from the back door to my garden? Not put up (hello, pointless door that cannot be reached…). My cute path of stepping stones with creeping thyme between them? Not assembled, but don’t worry, I’ve got the creeping thyme growing happily in the seed-starting station indoors, meaning I HAVE to finish that project so I have some place for all the creeping thyme. 

So yeah, I’m going crazy and I’m super stressed….And Yet…

And yet…

• When I smell and see the bajillions of hyacinths I have planted on my property, I feel great joy.
• When I see my perennial flowers that I started by seed last year peeking through the soil, I feel great success.
• When I see the first butterflies and bees buzzing around the plants that are currently stressing me out, I feel great happiness.
• When I sit on my garden bench and watch the birds make nests in their nesting boxes, and hear the rustle of both returning lizards and wakening toads, I feel great renewed peace.
• When my new cherry tree is already growing, and the peas are peeking through the soil, I feel great excitement.

The energy of spring is amazing for everyone, but especially for gardeners. You can actually start envisioning the green and the life. You can smell the earth awakening from it’s winter sleep. You can hear nature waking up again. It is pure and glorious joy.

So what’s the real insanity of spring? Well, for me, at least, it’s the fact that I’m feeling stress, annoyance, panic….and also joy, happiness, peace, and excitement. It’s a bit crazy, but I friggin love you, spring! 

How are you doing with these first weeks of spring? Tell me in the comments below!

More articles on Spring gardening:

• Early Spring Garden Planting Guide
• Early Spring Gardening Chores
• How to Start Seeds Inside
• How to Make a Garden Trellis (easy and cheap)

My favorite gardening items:

• Peat pellets
• Seed Heating Mat
• Seed Starting Soil