For those who might have been looking for contributions earlier in the year I apologise for the lack of input. I can only put it down to a state akin to hibernation and the lack of some winter sun. We have endured some very cold and wet weather recently which with global warming, I thought was a thing of the past. We have recently had two snowfall episodes; the rainfall has prevented getting onto the garden and the weather forecasters are predicting a cold wet Easter. There are signs of spring however: Daffodils are blooming profusely which must be a welcome sight for those who organise the Mells Daffodil Festival scheduled for Easter Monday and I have noticed a profusion of the very green leaves of wild garlic on the road from Combe Hay to Odd Down.
The inclement weather has served to subdue any enthusiasm for getting things going in the garden but having emerged from my hibernating state, I am now fully awake and determined to make up for lost time. I reckon we are about four weeks behind where we were this time last year. If you are like me and behind with things, don’t worry, plants will usually make up for lost time.
I have sown onions (including those distributed to members for exhibiting at the Flower Show) and tomatoes indoors but that’s as far as it goes at present so I’m looking forward to Easter weekend when I can het down to sowing more seeds indoors. On the negative side more rain is forecast thus extending the time before we can get onto the soil. I shall be sowing broad beans, sweet corn, squash, leeks, cabbage, salad crops and sweet peas and hope that in due course when the ground has dried out I shall be able to get sowings of carrot, beetroot, parsnip, shallots and onion setts done as early as possible during the month.
May 12th sees the staging of the Society’s annual plant sale. Please bring along your spare seedlings, cuttings and whatever else would be useful to fellow gardeners. This year the theme for the Society is “bees and other pollinators” and we have had two very interesting evenings so far this year when members/guests and visitors were treated to a fascinating presentation by Brigit Strawbridge followed by a film evening on the threats posed to bees and possible opportunities to mitigate some of them. Concurrent with the plant sale is a workshop for making bug hotels. This is primarily but not exclusively for children. So please bring along your children/grandchildren for an educational fun based afternoon. Refreshments in the form of tea and cakes (made by members) will be on sale. It’s a great opportunity to meet with other like minded gardeners, make new friends and swap ideas and experiences.
Finally I’m curious to know how many of you read my ramblings and it would be useful if you could drop me a line via the contacts page of this website with any comments/thoughts even if it’s only to confirm you have read them.
Happy gardening,
Alex