28 January 2009 11:10:04
The first icy little Snowdrop.
I think I read somewhere that snowdrops have their own version of antifreeze and thats how they can grow so early in the year. This tiny one must have plenty of it as there was a little icicle on the tip of the flowerbud. My Grandmother's garden was full of a beautiful double snowdrops - I dug up a few a couple of years ago and transplanted them but they haven't really taken off, I think I left them too long before planting them. I plan to go back and get a few more in a few weeks as I love to have things with a history in the garden, and also Snowdrops in particular give the spirits such a lift at this time of year, so brave and bold in the face of such harshness! I'd love to make it to Altamont this year for snowdrop week, but we'll have to wait and see.....
27 January 2009 16:34:37
Sowing the seeds of Exchange!
I'm new to the seed swapping thing - some people seem to be gurus and measure what they get against what they give, others just swap out of generosity and the will to share what they have. I'm just hoping that what I swap will be of some use to someone and what I get in return is a bonus. I have a box of seeds that is overflowing and as time marches on they are less and less useful so as I will never get around to sowing them all I am delighted to find interested parties who might appreciate them. And it also gives me the chance to try out something new for the cost of a postage stamp, and lets face it, its human nature to want to try new things! These seeds are winging their way to Rachel at the moment in return for a lovely package that arrived this morning. And along with the seeds from Nadine in the autumn I will be sowing the seeds of exchange for a long time to come!
26 January 2009 13:59:15
Eco and Recession friendly seed sowing!
It has been a long winter waiting for seed sowing time to come around again but it is finally here and yesterday I started by sowing some Onions and Hollyhocks. Admittedly I'll have to wait another month at least for the real seed sowing marathon to begin but its great to get started. The window sills will soon be taken over again, bursting with life and pure potential! And in a green move I used vegetable trays from the supermarket as seed trays and cut the labels from bottles of bleach - they make perfect colourful and durable labels.