Bit of a gloomy title, but then I am fed up of grey, chilly days, and, more importantly, the chilly nights. By this time last year I had the greenhouse up and tomatoes in it. This week the forecasts are all doom & gloom, with icy winds on their way and night-time temperatures scuttling down towards zero. My 200+ seedlings are going to have to stay at home a little longer, and I’m a bit worried about the allotment fruit, which is nearly all in full blossom.

In a moment of insomnia 24 turnips have been pricked out into modules, 30 chitted sweetcorn are in toilet rolls, 21 parsnips likewise. The turnips are at least happy on the balcony for now.

I sowed the first of the squashes yesterday: Chirimen, Flat White, Georgia Candy Roaster, Potimarron, Sucrette, plus courgettes Atena F1, Italian Striped, Lebanese Otto F1,

I am way behind on my sowing plan. In any other year my beans would be being sown now, all the squashes would be up. And there’s been no digging on the plot either to prep/clear the ground. The UK has such a short season this starts to impact on whether there will be a decent harvest with the veggies that take the most time. There had better be a good long summer, or getting squashes and beans to maturity is going to be a struggle.

Whistling down to Wisley on a gloriously (rarely?) sunny afternoon and having a proper shuftie around their veggie patch did make me feel better – plants there are roughly at the same stage as mine. Though obviously they have a bit more room…I’m looking forward to going back later in the season to compare notes, and specifically to check out how the variously trained fruit trees and bushes are doing. I can see that this is something that is dangerously addictive! It was lovely to see so much blossom. The sea of daffodils and hyacinths was just gorgeous. The pic below right is an unidentified pretty thing – like a right nit I forgot to snap the label.

I came home with a bag of SylvaGrow and a beautiful climbing rose (Blush Noisette) for the balcony. Kathy, of the excellent A Little Bit of Sunshine blog, helped me choose. (After 4 years of being happily but a little facelessly in touch on a forum it was great to finally meet up!) The blurb says it works well in shade as well as being strongly scented. I am unexpectedly excited at the prospect of fragrant roses nodding away on the wall. Could this be the thin end of the flower wedge..?

At the plot I’ve started planting out the Charlottes = 8 in, 10 to go. It’s even nearly dry enough to start some real digging. Please don’t rain, please don’t rain, please don’t rain!