The weather has been cold, windy and occasionally wet - drizzle, hail and sleet - so not really gardening weather, and it’s expected to get much colder in the coming days. I’ve been trying to get some work done on the better days, and think the rose pruning is finished. The grass has had a first cut and the cornus is cut down to encourage new colourful stems for next winter. The weeds are taking over, of course, so it’s a good job that gardener Ben is coming to the end of his winter projects, hence about to start the care and maintenance rounds again.
We have a pretty good germination of tomatoes, and they have not protested at being moved from the seed tray to their first pots. It’s a bit early to be thinking about beans, so we’ve a bit of time to clean up the raised bed and get a few more poles up. Not sure what else we’ll be growing this year. We’ve decided to give potatoes a miss: they’re a bit much like work.
It’s the time of year when the bulbs are starting to go over, and we’re starting to see new growth on subjects that go dormant. The magnolia stellata at the front is in glorious flower despite the wind and rain, and the white camellia is also doing well. The pink one at the back continues to sulk, so I think we may move it somewhere else and see if it does better.
Not sure what to make of politics in the land of my birth. The party of government seems to be imploding, so I hope Labour has got its ass into gear before the Holyrood elections. Darn Sarf, the latest Prime Minister seems to be making a slightly better fist of things than his predecessors, but he has not halted the undignified slide into populism. The ‘Stop the Boats!’ slogan is beneath the dignity of any decent government, when what is needed is an orderly method for asylum applications. The huge majority of asylum applications succeed, but they take far too long to process. But there is no effective channel for asylum applications from outside the country, and no legal entry route for applicants. The thing to remember, of course, is that immigration figures for those the country desperately needs vastly outnumber the poor souls trafficked into the country on small boats. For example, during a recent stay in hospital, very few of the lovely people who looked after me were UK born and bred.
Claire Smith’s bequest finally came through, some six weeks after I presented the cheque. One pair of new curtains now hangs at the front room window, and matching cushions adorn the suite. I had originally planned to give the whole amount to my favourite local charity, but as it came to more than I expected, I opted to give us a tangible reminder of Claire’s generosity. And in any case the charity will be able to claim as Gift Aid roughly the amount we’ve spent on the curtains.
Oh, and another sign of Spring: Mr Blackbird spends much of the day at the very top of the tallest tree, broadcasting his melodious message.
