I will happily close the door on this spring. It has been challenging in more ways than one with its wild and tempestuous ways. Each August I begin to anticipate a ‘calendar perfect’ kind of spring, you know the type – each month is represented with photos of lambs, daffodils, gentle rain and perfect tulips. There is no hint to the wild weather that leave tulips looking like they’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards – turning up to the party with their hair all askew and missing a shoe, daffodils with chunks missing because it was so damp the slugs had a field day and the gentle rain? That is a myth. Most of the rain comes lashing down and more often than not accompanied by howling wind. The lambs are still cute, although not so much when you are out there in the cold, dark, miserable weather bottle feeding them, or when they escape through the fence and make a bee line for the garden.
But I can be grateful as the seedlings, safe in the security of the greenhouse do what seedlings do and emerge from the soil (well most of them) and stretch forth towards the light, filling the greenhouse to capacity. Within those tiny, tender green leaves holds the hope of a harvest and this is the kind of hope that has the gardener pushing through and even digging in the rain. Well maybe that was just me in a moment of madness as I raced against time to get the garden ready.
I needn’t have rushed though, for the second season in a row, spring has been about 4 – 6 weeks late by what is considered normal. Normally we are recommended to plant our garden near the end of October, and yet it has been too cold. So I am happy to wait with my seeds and seedlings until it seems safe. I don’t want to risk all I have grown for a set date on a calendar. I need to be sensible about these things. So I waited and waited and waited. Then I began to doubt myself – was I waiting too long? Then just as I thought I was going crazy a cold snap would race through, having me reach for socks and warm jumpers. The thing I need to decide going forward – is the delay in the season an anomaly or start of a pattern for all springs going forward? Should I adjust my seed starting date to suit, to avoid large plants sitting around waiting growing root bound by the day?
It is good to look back and ponder these things as a season draws to a close, and ask yourself how could I have done things better? Then write it down somewhere that will be obvious to your future self in late winter anticipating that perfect spring.
But for now I’m putting spring behind me and looking forward to summer. It will be grand. There will be endless blue skies, picnics on the beach and perfectly formed fruit and veggies, ripe for the picking by perfect children with sun kissed noses and fabulous wicker baskets…. Just like in the calendar.
Come again soon – we are starting see the harvest.
Sarah the Gardener : o )
What a spring! But what lovely flora you have despite the wildest of ways. Those corn flowers (?) are marvelous.
Thanks. I think as you go into the new season you find you have blanked out the bad bits from the previous year. Every spring the wildness of spring takes me by surprise! The cornflower is a really lovely colour, but it is in the wrong place. I have decisions to make.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Your garden looks marvelous
Thank you so much BettyLouise. I still have a bit of work to do but it is getting there.
Cheers Sarah : o )
That’s a very good looking cornflower
Thanks Justin. The cornflower is in the wrong place so I’m in two minds as to what to do with it, as it is so beautiful.
Cheers Sarah : o)
Your garden is looking good as always many thanks for sharing have a blessed day Sarah and the family
Thanks Linda. There are a number of areas of the garden that are in desperate need of some love!
Have a fabulous day.
Cheers Sarah : o )
I enjoy browsing through your garden as you enjoy your Spring; while here in the northern U.S. Winter has begun with gray skies, blustering winds, and cold temperature. Happy gardening.
I’m just returning some of the sunshine I borrowed during our bleak winter months. I hope your winter isn’t too harsh.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Nice Corn Flower Sarah. Your posts are an inspiration
Thank you so much. : o)
Sarah, I to have been pondering the idea of “the new normal” when it comes to the weather. I think we’re in the midst of a change. Gardeners notice it the most because each day, each seedling, each howling wind inform our actions.
The wonderful thing about your green house is that you do have a special place to shelter your budding plants, even if things do get a bit crowded in there from time to time.
One year i tried an experiment. I planted three small tomato plants from a nursery on one side of my Earthbox and seeds on the other. Within two months they were all the same size. I suspect nature will continue to sort a lot of this out for herself.
I hope you are feeling a bit better. Thanks for making me smile with your words, your humour and your refreshing honesty.
HI Alys. Each month I take a snapshot of the historical weather data from the previous month from the Metservice and file it away. It is great to be able to look back at the month for the previous few years and see what it was like and what to expect. It is so easy to forget a terrible spring from the depths of winter. Spring is supposed to be the start of something amazing right?
And thank you so much for your kind words. I love hearing from you. I’ve been so wrapped up in my crazy old world I haven’t been out to do I look of looking in other gardens and blogs around the world. I should make some time on the next rainy day.
Cheers Sarah : o )
Oh those bachelor buttons are so pretty. Have a happy growing season and fun putting up with all the work of that time. I will be happily lounging on my couch with a pair of knitting needles the remote and my iPad games at least until April.
Hi Lucinda. It is really starting to warm up now and the garden is going crazy – but so are the weeds! I hope your winter is kind to you.
Cheers Sarah : o )
My husband was out today trying to dig a wee hole and said the ground is frozen already.
Wow. It never gets cold enough for our ground to freeze! : o )
Oh ya, we are lucky if we can get down three inches anymore. I guess that is what happens when you live this for north and in the center of a place as big as North America. We seriously are not far from the center of it both north to south and east to west.