Coming back to the garden after such a long time out of it feels weird. It isn’t helped by the weather. We are just three days away from the start of the meteorological summer and to be honest it feels like the early days of spring. Instead of slowly raising the temperatures and increasing the sunshine, the season seems to be stuck in some kind of holding pattern from early spring. As I write this the temperature gauge only just moved to 17°C and I’m still wearing socks, a warm jumper and a scarf. I’ll probably shed most of them as the day wears on, but I certainly won’t be switching out for shorts and a tee-shirt anytime soon.
The garden is doing its thing and growing. There are obvious signs of change since I left the garden. You can’t miss the blush starting out on the first tomatoes and when looking out the office window there is more green from the foliage than brown from bare earth – I must get onto mulching.
But it is the mindset I am struggling with. My brain is telling me it is nearly summer, and it should be warmer and nicer. But confronted with the reality of the weather, my default is it is too cold and miserable to possibly garden and the temptation is to sit it out until the weather improves. But then I need to remind myself that just a month or so ago, I would have relished this kind of weather. It would have made a break from actual cold weather that was closer to freezing than anything remotely considered warm. In the early spring I would have valiantly raced out between showers, making the most of the moments of good weather.
So, in a slow and steady approach I will find my feet again, in spite of the weather, and reacquaint myself with this wonderful garden I have created. I will greet each plant and inquire how it is doing, so that the familiarity like an old glove returns. There isn’t much needed to restore order, thanks to my Handy Helper, for which I am extremely grateful. So, as I head into the new season this garden will once again become everything I need it to be, for my own wellbeing but also to the benefit of my family as the storehouse slowly refills with seasonal goodness to be saved for a truly cold and rainy day
Come again soon – the weather may be strange, but I need to ignore that and carry on.
Sarah the Gardener : o)
Spring has whizzed past! For some reason my tomatoes are stubbornly refusing to sprout – too cold? – and I have learned that chickens simply ADORE redcurrants, and do not care in the slightest if they are not remotely ripe (or even reddish).
Tomatoes have been tricky for a lot of people this year – but there is no shame in buying seedlings. Oh no about the red currants, my new young chickens have a habit of sneaking out so I may need to protect my berries! Thanks for the heads up! : o)
I was wondering how your garden survived your time away, but it sounds like your handy helper kept an eye on things, and hubby the Un-gardener too I’m sure. Things are growing slowly here in Hawkes Bay – I thought it was just me. But I do have raspberries and boysenberries coming ripe and that’s such a treat.
The garden coped quite well without me, so it just needed a little bit of tweaking to bring it back into control. It is so nice to have had the help. It has been quite a slow season for loads of people this season – the weather has been all over the place – I hope it settles down soon. Enjoy your berries : o)
It’s so fun to see the seasons in the other hemisphere–while our garden is winding down and first freezes have taken out the squashes and tender veg, yours are growing into full glory! And same here, the weather keeps getting weirder.
I know exactly what you mean. Northern gardens get me through our winters. I hope your winter isn’t too harsh or too weird! : o)