A few days ago, I wandered through my garden thinking about the upcoming growing season. Last Spring was so warm in comparison to this year. The Fall proved to hot and my bees could not collect the much needed golden rod nectar. But this year is different. New. Promising. Every Spring, I make plans. Some come true, some wait for another year. This year, I've captured a few of my plans in photos. I hope to share some of these with you through this blog. And if some of you are like some of my gardening friends -- you'll keep tabs on me!

The first photo is one of rhubarb just barely peeking out from under last year's leaves. This

year, I promise to make more rhubarb sauce and bring some over to my Aunt Betty. And I promise to share some asparagus with my brother. This year I promise to try a new gardening technique. For 2013, I've chosen Straw Bale Gardening. We bought the book, and last week purchased 5 bales of straw. Conditioning is started and we'll see how it goes. I'll be conducting a 'tomato test' to compare -- ground vs. bales.

This year I promise to thin my apples. Last year's late frost ruined my tree. I had

only THREE apples come to full fruit on my tree. But guess what, they were the cleanest, most maggot free apples I've ever enjoyed from my own tree. So this year, I WILL thin to one apple button per six inches just like the University of Minnesota recommends. And I promise to cut more flowers and bring them into the office. The daffodils I've pictured here will look great in a few weeks. Home grown flowers lighten up any desk.

What about you? Do you have something new you're going to try? Do you want to share more? Add a comment, join the conversation. Spring is here... what do you promise?