This summer I shall be reprising my role of ‘Girl who gardens in a bumbling and accident-prone manner, and is perpetually shocked by anything botantical that survives or, in fact, exists’. The bit of dirt with VEGETABLES in it, will be making a come-back. I’m hoping to do carrots, runner beans, parsnips, spring onions, lettuces and cabbages. No tomatoes this year, I am still totally not over last year’s grudge.
Yesterday I potted on a load of plugs, and set-up my little plastic cold-frame in a sunny spot. The house once again looks like The Little Shop of Horrors, and that is no bad thing. We have a tree in our kitchen, that I insist on calling a Catkin, since it makes my mother hysterically shriek ‘PUSSY WILLOW’ at me (which is one of the funniest things in the world).
I got in the gardening mood again, thanks to Purple Fred. I’m sure I’ve introduced him before – he’s a purple Primula. Last year he was perpetually on the brink of death, therefore my Dad loves him. My Dad delights in telling me that all of my plants are dead, and that I’ve personally had a hand in their downfall, even if said plant was attempting to grow up his trouser-leg at the time. This year, Purple Fred has come back with a vengeance and has multiplied.
After he’s finished flowering, I’m going to try and split him up into more plants. That should be fun. (Not.) He’s the only bit of colour we have at the moment though, so I’m doing my very best not to kill him, DAD.
At the end of last year, I said I wanted to plant some snowdrop bulbs. Mum bought me a pack of cheap ones from Tesco, and in they went. Then I was donated a bunch of tulip bulbs, and dahlia bulbs. Then Mum went overboard and bought every bulb that Tesco owned (except light bulbs, that would just be silly) – our garden is packed with them now, and I don’t know where anything is. Which means I’m perpetually shocked when things like this happen.
What IS that? No, seriously. It’s not even like a daffodil. I have no idea. ‘citing, though!
Ferrisey is loving the new gardening kick though. I do most of my planting in our conservatory, which is a real sun trap. Ferris loves it, he has his own sofa in there because it’s far too cold to go sit in there most of the time. He’s happy that we’re letting him back in though – he’s been banned all Winter, and has sat by the door whining pathetically, despite the fact that it was below freezing out there. Silly dog.
He spends most of his time snoozling in there.
And finally, nothing like a nice picture of some snowdrops to cheer you up.
I think next year I’ll plant a load of snowdrop bulbs in some tubs and hopefully have lots of happy clumps like this.
Now, I’d better go and watch the new Gardener’s World that I taped!
