Growers and farmers are always whingeing about the weather – and I’m in danger of doing it too. Overnight frosts have nipped the tips of some of the new growth, while warm, sunny dry days are drying out plants in pots faster than I can water. Even the lawn looks a bit dry. The automatic system is still in bits, with outstanding leaks requiring a plethora of parts. I really didn’t expect to be spending two hours a day manually watering the plants outside in March in addition to the ones inside tunnels. It feels like I’m getting next to nothing else done. I guess it’s all part of the learning curve.

But at least the dry weather means we are getting the garden sorted out. To me, it looks a bit sparse at the moment. Since I have never seen it at its peak it’s hard to imagine that all the bare spaces will be jam-packed in July. Fortunately for me, I have Janet on hand who knows more or less exactly how it will look and is reining in my instinct to make changes. She’s right – I must just watch for a year.

An area we have cleared up near the pond – see what I mean about looking sparse? In my old garden an area like this would now be carpeted with crocus and wood anemones. But this is a summer garden. I must be more patient…

March 28, 2007