A few weeks ago after a particularly nasty bout with the flu, I came out of hibernation and spent a Saturday afternoon hacking away in my front garden. Though it’s been a mild winter, I still had spent flowers, broken stems, and other unsightly trash to take care of — and I would argue that the time I spent outside was the best medicine of all. The kitten enjoyed it too — he rolled around on the front stoop in the sunshine like he’d never been out in the fresh air before.

I was inspired to get moving since I’d just ordered Gayla Trail‘s entire catalog of books. I’ve been a longtime fan of her blog You Grow Girl, but new book, Easy Growing, was published last month and features loads and loads of great ideas on growing edible herbs and flowers. And of course it got me hyperventilating for summertime. Can. not. wait.

Another gardening book I recently grabbed was Fern Richardson’s Small-Space Container Gardens. I’ve been reading her Life on the Balcony blog for a couple of years now and look forward to digging in this weekend — especially since Marie Viljoen’s terrace is on the front cover. (Why hello, Don Estorbo!)

It makes me so happy to support the work of the blogs I read. Awesome work, ladies!

To get myself in gear and start planning for this year, I dredged up some late-season photos from last summer. One golden fall afternoon before that freak snowstorm flattened all our hard work, I took my Mamiya out for a spin to enjoy the zinnias and coleus, Montauk daisies and sedum that were all in bloom.

I can’t wait for this view again.