Not bad for January is it?

My recent surgery sapped my energy but Saturday was the first day for more than two weeks that I felt I had a bit of ‘oomph’.   The sun was shining, Doc was in and out with work commitments and so I decided to do some pottering in the garden.

However, cleaning out the chickens and pulling up the last of the leeks turned into five hours of glorious gardening.  By mid afternoon I had cast my fleece aside and had sorted out all the raised beds and tidied up some borders.  I pulled up trug after trug of weeds which is a sure sign of a mild winter.

In the greenhouse, the over wintered strawberry plants were doing well and the pots of pansies were blooming much better than their outdoor counterparts.  But the most surprising find was a patio rose I keep in a pot.  It was in flower!  I don’t know the variety; it was a gift to me over five years ago and not labelled.  The sunshine had heated the greenhouse and the fragrance from the rose was intoxicating.  In fact it was so warm in there that I had to open a couple of windows.

Our greenhouse is roomy enough for a table and a couple of chairs in the winter months but on Saturday it was warm enough to sit on a bench outside and enjoy a cuppa, listening to the birds.  I spotted the first snowdrops in the hedgerows and the buds on the blueberry bushes looked desperate to spring open. But the nicest site was the emerging rhubarb, nubby ruby shoots and a promise of crumbles to come.  The garden definitely seemed brighter and not at all bad for the 28^th January! 

It is not often I ‘garden’ with any enthusiasm in January.  I did need to do some shopping but I am glad I made the most of the surprisingly good weather.  I felt chuffed that I achieved so much in so short a time and it means we are well ahead for the new season.  Even Doc managed to squeeze in an hour on the plot and cut all the autumn fruiting raspberry canes down to the ground which was another tick in the box. 

We greeted Sunday morning with a familiar sigh.  It was raining, that grey misty weather that dampens your spirit and the ground.  But that’s the British climate for you.  And that is why we have the saying:  Make hay whilst the sun shines......