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To sow or not to sow, that is the question most gardeners will be asking themselves over the coming weeks. It can be hard to restrain a gardener champing at the bit, eager to start growing after winter’s enforced sabbatical. I’m often guilty of falling for the first mild, sunny day in February and being lulled into thinking that spring has arrived.
Do you keep a garden diary? I do. That probably sounds much grander than the reality. I started with a scribbled notebook and I soon discovered I was in good company when I volunteered to sort through the archives at National Trust HQ. I found a similar approach was adopted at Sissinghurst during Vita Sackville-West’s time. It was an amazing to find long lists of plants and seed orders plus the corresponding gardening tasks from such a prominent garden.
An odd feeling takes over me at this time of year now that the distraction of Christmas is over. I start to feel restless. There’s a craving for light, for colour and for life. There are signs – the fat green fingers of bulbs tentatively pushing through the soil, early snowdrops and the occasional brave, or foolhardy, primrose encouraged into bloom by a milder spell of weather but it’s not quite enough to assuage the feeling of cabin fever that January induces in me.
Books are a gift which if chosen with care and thought for the recipient are bound to delight. The list suitable for greenhouse owners may be smaller than most gardening categories, but here follows a selection of three tried and trusted guides, which are of interest for a beginner or seasoned grower alike.
The Tree Council agrees, as November 29th sees the start of National Tree Week.