Spring crazy
The garden is going spring crazy. Everywhere I look new shoots are sprouting up, bringing promise of colour and scent a plenty. Like most people, I've been waiting so long for spring this year - after ten months of winter and two months of bad weather - now that it's here it's taken me quite by surprise. My resolution to get all my seeds planted in plenty of time this year was in danger of falling by the way side (along with most of my other resolutions!), so I made sure this week that task was top of my agenda. Jim McColl has a rather endearing nick-name for me, 'Mrs McGawnty', devised because (according to Jim) I'm always 'gonna do this and gonna do that, but never quite get round to it!'. A bit of an unfair moniker me thinks, the only scant evidence being that I still have last year's tulip bulbs as yet unplanted, rotting in the shed.
So it was with a sense of achievement that I dug out bags of compost and a mountain of seeds ready to get going. And what a variety, basil, lettuce, tomato, cosmos, sunflower, poppies, you name it, I had it in a packet. It must have taken me the best part of 2 hours, taking care to plant each one according to the instructions, but soon, I was able to stand back and admire my handy-work; dozens of seed trays, all done and dusted, the empty packets in a neat pile by my side - along with all the labels! I made the classic mistake of forgetting to keep a note of what's what. I now have looks like miles upon miles of seed trays filled with bare earth and not a clue what each one contains! Is this where the phrase 'pot-luck' comes from?
Talking of phrases, we're all familiar with 'Ne'er cast a cloot till May is oot....' And with this mad changeable weather on the horizon, it seems sound advice. Now, I've always thought the saying refers to the month of May and a dire warning not to take off your thermals until then, lest you succumb to the common cold or some other dreaded lurgy. However, it appears that it actually refers to the May flower and not the month! From time immemorial, folk have looked to gardens and nature to gauge their everyday behaviour. And if like me you don't know what the May Flower is, I've been reliable informed that it's the Hawthorn, and only when it's in flower should you risk discarding your woolly-pooly. But I'm a devil may care sort of gal, and I've thrown caution along with my thermals to the wind, so if you hear me sneezing my way through Sunday's Potting Shed, you'll know I've come down with some Victorian ailment, befitting us latter day Gertrude Jekylls.
If you listened in to The Potting Shed on Sunday, you'll have heard our very first 'Get Gardening' feature; our expert France Pringle visited the Aitken family in Edinburgh to give them top-tips on how to get their garden growing! We'll be coming back to the Aitken family in the coming months to check their progress. And the wonderful Ian Young gave us timely advice on growing the most fabulous rockeries. I've been fortunate enough to see Ian's garden, and he really does create the most marvellous and imaginative displays. You can download Ian's advice on our podcast section, just follow the links on the website, and next Sunday the lovely Donald McBean will be by my side to pass on his knowledge about hardy annuals. He'll be joined by Carole Baxter and between them they're poised like coil springs waiting to answer all your gardening queries.
Look forward to speaking to you then...
Take care and Happy Gardening...
Theresa
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