Garden Centre

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

When the weather is this bad, what do you do?

Assuming you have the same gale force winds and driving rain that I do, of course!

I get out the seed catalogues and starting planning my next year’s garden. It’s a bit silly really, because I probably have more seeds than I could plant out in a couple of acres of well-tilled land, but there you are, it’s always something you don’t have that takes your fancy. I grew this rock rose from seed three years ago, for example.

So I do seed swaps with a number of other gardeners who live nearby, which means I have a greater range of plants to grow, but no fewer in number of course because for every half-packet I give away, another one arrives in the post! I’ve also taken to planting several containers up for people who live in sheltered housing, so that they get a new little flowerbed outside their front door or window every spring – a bit of watering and snipping off old flower-heads is all that such tubs require – but the pleasure they bring to somebody who may not be very mobile, or used to gardening, is immense.

Seeds will keep for at least a year in a well sealed plastic container in the fridge. Make sure you label them carefully, especially if you’ve harvested them yourself, and put good notes about their growing requirements eg if they need to be soaked in water, stratified in the cold, roughed up with sandpaper or whatever.

And if you fancy doing seed swaps, I’ve always found a card in a local shop window or a notice in the local allotment newsletter will bring you as many ardent swappers as you could wish for.

Labels: container plants, growing plants from seed, seed swaps

The All Seasons Gardener at 3:01 AM

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