It was a beautiful day, fresh and just warm enough to keep comfortable and smell spring in the air. The frogs were singing away in the pond, vanishing every now and again when one of the cats decided to go and watch proceedings. For the first time in what seems like forever, I spent almost the entire day doing the stuff I should have done last autumn, except that the snow and ice appeared so quickly and then stayed so long.
The mountains of dead and rotting leaves had been prodding me every time I went past, which – as you go through my garden to get to the house – meant at the very least four times a day, during dog walking duties.
I didn’t quite get down to serious weeding and sorting. But at least now it looks as if I care, I can see which plants have survived and which look very dead and might have to be replaced. And the daffodils have room to breath and grow.
So now I know where I am with the whole garden, which is good. I also know just how much work needs to be done in the next month or so. Which is not so good. Seriously scary, in fact.
Thank goodness for the vegan chocolate-and-ginger cake I made at Christmas to practice for lots of parties with vegan friends. Being holed up with flu meant I didn’t see any one. The non-vegan one got eaten anyhow, and is now compromising the belt of my trousers until the serious dog walking season arrives. Luckily the vegan one ended up frozen in chunky slices in the freezer for just such an occasion as this.
Back to the Polytunnel Handbook, and Alys Fowler’s ‘The Edible Garden’, which has just arrived. I’ve got a definite craving for salad leaves at the moment, now the veg box has finished until June and the potatoes, cabbage and leeks are gone. Time to get planting! Yippee!