Some jobs are easier with two pairs of hands……….if the second pair of hands belong to your best mate even better. Hanging out with Graham there’s always plenty of banter and laughter…….the jobs get done and it doesn’t feel like work at all. I’m delighted to have my first water butt installed (I plan to have many more when finances allow) – harvesting rain water should be a priority for us all………..as should laughing and spending time with good friends.
There’s no two ways about it……sometimes having a veggie garden is sheer hard work. My clay soil has baked hard in the sun but I’m excited to get on with preparing bed number 3 and doing things differently this year……and making space for the grapevine and more new veggies for the fence area. All morning the bees buzzed happily in the kale flowers and darted in and out of their ‘hotels’…..
Our mini-heatwave continues so I’m using whatever I can lay my hands on to act as a mulch – today it is nettles……..but I am mindful of the life cycles of the butterflies who use nettles as a crucial habitat and food source……and I get my first direct sown seeds in despite the ground being baked hard – hurrah for carrots! Then……a bit of time out to simply enjoy the sunshine, the quiet and the beauty of Mother Nature waking up…..
Finally! We have sunshine and warmth so the race is on to get the last bits of preparation done on the beds ready for some direct sowing and to make sure supports are in place for the climbing plants. It’s also time to simply sit back, do nothing and enjoy being in the garden.
It feels great to get the last of the indoor sowings done…….and to re-sow all the tomatoes, leeks and celery after a bit of a disaster with some bad compost. Now I can think about the direct sowings in the garden……..
On a very chilly day I start to get ready for winter! Sowing my brassicas with numb, cold fingers and dreaming of warmer days…..hopefully sowing flower seeds will prompt the sun to come out.
It’s time to give some attention to the grass paths – I love the first mow of the new season especially when I’m surrounded by fellow gardeners all pitching in to make our site a lovely place to be. Cake works well as an incentive. When all the communal work is done it’s time to play with ‘rubbish’ – in this case an old grapevine….
Cooking up a bowl of memories and comfort using veggies from the garden and a recipe learned in a Greek kitchen many years ago……the smell of the thyme as this stew quietly bubbles on the stove transports me to another time and place….
My excitement is starting to build again……a little walk around the garden reminds me that most of the hard work has been done and that I’m ready for a new growing year….I just need a bit of sunshine now.
It feels great to finally get something in the ground! At home I am still cooking with last year’s harvests so I hope this year’s do just as well……..despite the rather chilly, damp start to this new growing season….
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