My favourite time of year! The grass is starting to grow, the sun is out more than it is in, flowering bulbs are putting on great displays in our gardens and parks and my hands are dirty with compost from seed sowing. Yes, that time of year is now upon us!
There is something almost sacred and fundamentally right about sowing seeds and looking after plants. There’s the preparation; the quite of preparing the compost trays in the potting shed. The anticipation; waiting for the seedlings to emerge. And there is of course, the nurturing; making sure that each and every seedling is off to the very best start in life.
Many years ago, I worked as an advertising manager with a recruitment agency in the Midlands. My boss was a work-aholic bully who reigned over us all with fear and aggression. As a result of working in this environment, I found that I was becoming quite a stressful person and hook on antacid.
I always remember the release of coming home and tending my garden – how it made me feel. It was as if nothing else in the world mattered. I still get that feeling; if things in my business go wrong, I turn to my garden for sanctuary and release.
We live in very stressful times. Ever day, each news paper takes it’s turn in telling us that this day is worst than the last. I wonder how different things would be if we all spent a little time accessing that fundamental urge to grow things.
Anyway, March is no time to ponder life and the universe and all that. There are so many little jobs to do in the potting shed. I look forward to the comming months when I will start planting the larger vegetable seeds like running beans, sweetcorn and squashes. All good stuff!