March is National Craft Month

Gardeners often look for activities to keep idle hands busy while they wait for the first spring thaw.

This is the time of year when winter has truly worn out its welcome. I’m on my 14th bag of birdseed; all that’s left is for some errant ivory-billed woodpecker to make a surprise visit to one of my birdfeeders. I’ve perused all the seed catalogs, and I’ve decided that my eyes are bigger than my garden, as usual. I’ve examined the soil every time I go to the mailbox, and just as a watched pot doesn’t boil, neither does a watched sprout hasten its development.

If you’re looking for a way to contribute to your garden while winter continues to hang on by its left pinky toenail, consider making a craft for your garden. March is National Craft Month, and you don’t need the skills of an artisan to create something special for your organic garden.

When I want a new ornament for my garden, I look for inspiration in items that otherwise might become discards. I think that keeping things out of the landfill complements the earth-friendly philosophy of organic gardening. Here’s an example of something I created in one afternoon: I took a circular wire tomato cage with broken soldering, and painted it with a coat of bright green paint formulated for metals. Using a pair of needle-nosed pliers, I twisted the free ends of the cage into curlicues. I fastened the large circular end to the soil with u-shaped stakes, and planted cypress vine at the base of my homemade trellis.