It’s January!  Christmas season is officially over, and although I there’s a part of me that feels some sadness at taking down the tree and un-hanging the stockings a bigger part of me gets crazy happy and excited.  The new year brings promise of a fresh beginning and with it longer days and {ever-so-slowly} increasing temperatures.  Along with a list of new year’s resolutions I begin my new year’s garden list.  Although I’d love to hurry spring along, I’ve lived in icy, unpredictable Utah long enough that January and February require a gardener’s patience.

I’ll spend the next two months doing my yard inventory, and try to whittle down my garden to do list to a few of my most important projects.  Sometime in the next couple of weeks I’ll start sewing some of my seeds indoors and I’ll wait, looking out the window for the first rays of spring sunshine.  In the mean time, it’s just me, my lists, and an open tab on Pinterest looking for more and more garden inspiration.

One of the projects I’m anticipating most is starting some perennial seeds.  Although I love the vibrant color and aggressive blooming of annuals for things like window boxes and patio pots, I’ll always skip those in my flower beds.  I prefer to fill my borders with resilient little bloomers that will reseed, spread, and return year after year.  Gardening on 1/3 an acre with a shoestring budget requires even more patience than waiting out a slow January and February.  Instead of filling my basket with perennials this spring, I’m going to save my nursery dollars for larger trees, shrubs, and {crossing my fingers} an arbor.  So I’m planning out a seed starting schedule.  I’ve got some potting soil, heating mats, and a sunny south facing window all ready to go.  My first round of seed starting will include a set of herbs, not for my vegetable garden, but for my flower beds.  These herbs are fighters, they’ll withstand the hot sun, a little bit of drought, and they’ll add an awesome variance of texture to my flower beds.  Here’s the top four herbs on my list…..

Tri Color Sage

Amazing texture right?  This version of the usually dusty-green foliage plant is has leaves rimmed in white, and new growth emerges pinkish purple.  Since it only gets about 12-16″ tall, it’ts perfect for the front of plant borders.
 Lemon Thyme

I’m planting this beauty along the edges of my walkways and in between my stepping stones.  It’s low growing, spreading habit makes it a perfect ground cover, with the added bonus of when it’s bumped or stepped on it releases a delicious lemony fragrance.

Chives

I’m still trying to decide the exact direction I’m taking my garden.  With so many ideas running around my designer’s head it’s hard to narrow my theme down.  I’m all for eclectic, but I think a formal french, English cottage, Moorish, drought resistant yard might be a little too diverse.  So while I’m still in the decision making process, I’m at least trying to stick with a color scheme.  I’ve got lots of purple and blue hues, so I’ll add variance with a little texture this year.  The grassy leaves and round firework like blossoms of chives will give perfect contrast peeking out from between my salvias and jupiter’s beards.

Feverfew

I’ve been in love with feverfew ever since it began spreading in my mom’s garden a few years ago.  The tiny, daisy flowers add whimsy to a landscape, which I believe is a necessary component.  One of the best attributes of this dainty herb is the second round of blooms you can get if you chop them back about 8″ after their first blossoming.  Did I mention they can spread like crazy?  A bonus for any gardener looking to fill up space on a budget.