There is far more to gardening than gardening itself: at first glance, a seemingly very strange statement with which to welcome this New Year but a truism all the same.

A garden — according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary — is a ‘piece of ground devoted to growing flowers, fruit, or vegetables’ and a gardener is ‘a person who gardens’. Yet, taking a comprehensive view of gardens, gardeners and gardening, the picture is one of incredible complexity rather than simply bucolic as the dictionary implies.

Tending plants, whether it is on a large or small scale or whether the plants are edible or purely ornamental, is — for some of us — an integral part of our genetic makeup.

Plus a guide to sowing winter vegetables, flowering plants and trees

Carefully monitoring soil health, experiencing the thrill of seed sowing, the sheer satisfaction of seedling germination and right on through various growing and caring cycles to maturity and crops, is deeply rooted in the blood which flows through the veins of passionate gardeners in exactly the same way as sap flows through the stem and leaf veins of the plants.

Yet plants, and the soil they grow in, are not the be all and end all of modern gardening. Water accessibility, reliability and viability too are important, as ours being a water-starved country there are legions of people struggling to survive without the basic human right of potable water. Gardening without water is, believe it or not, possible but extremely difficult and will not, in our climate, produce the crops we home-growers desire.

Watering your garden with recycled water, augmented with harvested rainwater when possible, is a sensible way in which to ease personal water-related angst — an angst our gardening ancestors did not suffer from as the population was much smaller and the climate vastly different than it is today.

There are also the issues of genetically modified seeds (GMOs) and other purposely bred hybrids versus rapidly disappearing ‘Heritage’ seeds, chemical interventions and controls versus organic solutions. Besides these, the acquisition of imported, exotic plants versus climatically- suitable indigenous ones in addition to the ever-changing climate which has now become so unpredictable has made it, quite frankly, frightening.

Then there are a myriad of other garden — and lifestyle — associated issues to be factored in and personally accounted for. For example, the size of our ‘carbon footprint’ and how best to reduce it. Can we totally avoid use of oil-based products, like plastics, in our homes and gardens and in everything else we undertake to do? How can we reduce consumerism to the point where — at least on a personal level — we can honestly claim sustainability? Are we actively caring for planet earth and all — not only the plants in our gardens but the countless other plants from which our food originates — that grows, flourishes and is available to nurture us too?

Gardening is no longer a simple pastime at all. Far from it as, we gardeners are also responsible for laying a sustainable groundwork for the generations to come. This is, friends, a seriously ‘heavy’ responsibility from which we must not walk away.

On a far lighter note though, gardening, it must also be said, is salve for the soul. It is caring for nature with a love and dedication which brings unparalleled rewards.

On the New Year planting front you may like to consider sowing the following over the coming month:

Vegetable seeds: You can grow leaf beet/Swiss chard with its cream, bright yellow, luminous pink, surprisingly orange or ruby red stalks and veins in lush green leaves; cauliflower, cabbage, crunchy lettuce, crispy radish and tart spring onions. Beetroot — and you can try white ones if you can find the seeds — mustard mizuna, giant red mustard, mesclun for spicy salad leaves are also to be planted now. Sweet corn, French beans, runner beans, pole beans are for Karachi and other coastal areas only; that staple crop, tomatoes is for relatively warm areas and even then only if protection can be given on cold days and at nights.

Also in warm areas only and just in the final days of this month, you may like to experiment with just a few seeds of the following: tindas, pumpkins, courgette / zucchini, karelas, aubergines, capsicums, chillies and cucumbers. If you can start them off under cover then all the better and, if not, then at the base of a sheltered, south-facing, warm wall.

Herbs and spices: Herbs and spices to be sown this month — more especially if you are gardening in Karachi — include: borage, lovage, watercress, ginger, zeera, oregano, marjoram, lemon balm, thyme, mints, nasturtiums, calendulas, chives, garlic chives, agastache, ajwain, dill, chamomile, rosemary, coriander, feverfew and tarragon. You can also try a few basil seeds, in a sheltered spot, in the last week of the month.

On the flower front: Violas, pansies, petunias, larkspur, cornflowers, sweet sultan, sunflowers, dahlias, antirrhinums, stocks, Virginia stocks, candytuft. After the 20th and in southern regions only, you can make a start on zinnias which will, all going well, provide brilliant colour for months.

Additionally: Please continue planting as many trees, shrubs and climbers / ramblers as you have room for and keep at it until the end of next month when the winter planting season for these comes to an end. Remember to check the climatic suitability of your location before buying any of the following species suggested for planting now. If in doubt, ask at your local nursery for guidance.

With the emphasis on edible, you can go fo black mulberries, white mulberries, jamun, loquat, apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums, apricots, mango, guava, chico, sharifa, banana, lassura, star fruit, oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruit, lychee, kiwi fruit, grape vines, passion fruit, pecan nuts, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, falsa and a seemingly endless selection of purely ornamental varieties.

Happy New Year and Happy Gardening one and all.

Please continue sending your gardening queries to zahrahnasir@hotmail.com. Remember to include your location. The writer does not respond directly by email. Emails with attachments will not be opened.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, January 1st, 2017