I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter/Spring Equinox/Ostara I've spent today in the greenhouse sowing seeds waiting for a phonecall from my brother announcing the arrival of my new neice, I'm still waiting, she was due Friday!

It was lovely and warm in the greenhouse, and I managed to sow a few different varieties of tomatoes, some chilli's and sweet peppers and a huge selection of herbs, tomorrow its the turn of the veggies seeds for the new veggie patch we'll be adding to the garden this year and cottage garden plants for the front garden. It really was good to get my hands in the compost and start the gardening year off properly!

I was shocked when I phoned one of my friends to learn that she had snow, we had a lovely sunny day although outside the greenhouse it was windy and cold. We did have some snow yesterday, its really odd, I can't recall ever seeing snow at Easter before?! Has anybody else been gardening so far this weekend, or are you all snowed in?

Debs

 

We had snow in Kent all day yesterday, there was no chance of gardening at all.
It did not stick though, and today is a little brighter and clearer. I wonder if this season will be as strange as last year, a lot of my broadcast sowing just did not come up at all.
Jane

We were lucky in that the snow in the Cotswolds didn't stick, but we woke up every day for four days to swirling snow storms.

Friday I walked down to the Sanctuary and took photos in the howling gales of various plants. Saturday was the herb workshop. Sunday I picked all the burdock leaves I could find and two lots of dandelion leaves and dried them over the top of my mother's rayburn. I infused the burdock leaves in vodka when I got home.

Yesterday, it seemed much colder than the previous days and my hands froze as I picked some more dandelion leaves for tincturing (not very many as they are only about 3 inches long, unlike the enormous dandelion leaves growing on the grass verge outside my house which I can't use!). I also picked a huge bagful of nettle tops, which are sitting waiting for me to decide what I'm going to do with them. I think some more soup, some nettle tincture and vinegar and maybe some more iron tonic if I can get some apricots and red wine today.

I have come to the conclusion that I completely and utterly mad hunting and gathering herbs the way I do - dandelion roots in freezing winds in January and now their leaves and nettles in snow and biting winds in March! I was just so mortified to have to buy dandelion leaves earlier in the year when I have access to a whole field full of plants! To me it's worth it because the dandelion root tincture tastes quite special with a definite sweetness and the dried leaves are still vibrantly green when dry and tasted wonderful fresh!

I guess it keeps me out of mischief!

Sarah