The Gardening Seasons

I must admit that my absolute enthusiasm for outside gardening wanes just a tad at the onset of winter and revives at the commencement of spring. On the few nice days during this cold period I gather up the last of the vegetables as I need them, tidy up the garden as necessary ready to start again when the weather improves, and escape to my small greenhouse to prepare seed trays etc ready for early January when I will start sowing again. We do still have growing a few leeks, some spinach, parsnips and celariac which are excellent when most other crops have finished.

Apart from these odd jobs, I sit in comfort in the warmth of home, reflect on what I have grown this season and study catalogues to decide which of the wonderful things on offer I will grow next. I get enormous pleasure from doing this.

My absolute favourite catalogues are Mr Fothergill's and Suttons, both of which contain a vast variety of seeds and plants at very reasonable prices.
My only problem I find is that everything looks so tempting that I would like to buy some of each which would be fine if I had several acres and employed a staff. However, with my small garden I have to come down to earth and select just enough (flowers, fruit and vegetables) for our own use and with a little surplus for friends and family.

In the following weeks I will share with you some of the successes and failures from this year and my hopes and aspirations for next but in the meantime let me add a supplement to the recent "Humble Potato" blog. I have now emptied the last pod and hey presto, I have cracked it, no more pea size potatoes, just lovely ones, mostly a good size and absolutely delicious.