"That God once loved a garden we learn in Holy writ. And seeing gardens in the Spring I well can credit it." - Winifred Mary Letts
The Roman month Aprilis is derived from a verb meaning ‘to open’ ‘Fruits and flowers and animals and seas do open’ this month an ancient Roman calendar explains. And we have lots of plants opening up after their winter slumber now. In fact the garden is a riot of colour with bulbs and shrubs flowering, along with all our pansies that have flowered all winter.
Planning ahead for more colour in the summer, volunteers have adopted seeds and been growing them at home. So there have been window ledges all over Halton full of seed trays and pots. Mine have overflowed into 2 bedrooms and my dining room too. Most seem to be coming up ok and some volunteers have started to repot some plants now.
We have also been growing seeds in the yard under cover and in our cold frame to give them a head start. We have been given a second cold frame now, so that was filled with seeds at our last volunteer session. Handy for protecting them against the cold nights we’ve been having.
The veg garden is being prepared ready for seed sowing. This year we will be growing even more fruit, salad and veg. Following the idea of planting by the moon, I’ve just planted up the potato container with some Cara seed potatoes. And I was excited to find that the asparagus is coming up in its bed now too. This is its second year, and apparently you aren’t supposed to cut it until year three. It’s so tempting to have a go though…..
The fruit section is slowly expanding too. The rhubarb was coming through under its pot, so I’ve taken it off now so it can get some of the sunshine we’ve been having recently. And I’ve added a couple of blackcurrant bush cuttings by the purple gooseberry bush.
We are having our first garden event of the year on Sat 27th April 10am-2pm. This is Big Dig Day when communities are encouraged to get together to grow veg. So we have decided to get active and encourage lots of people to help in the garden that day. We will have refreshments and there will be tours of the garden as well as activities, free seeds and a plant sale run by our Bloomers.
The Blooming Old Gardener
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