BLUE
Like most people in Britain, I'm suffering from the Brexit Blues.
I've stashed Spam, rice and toilet rolls like all you other fearful hoarders. Now I can only cross my fingers and hope for the best.
But it gnaws away at the back of my mind and frays the edges of my daily routine. Aargh! Let's get back to normal!
Even the weather has turned rogue. These gales with sleety rain are surely colder than the usual 'Lambies' Storm'? But despite the weather, there are newborn lambs and nesting birds. I can vouch for the nesting rooks in my-2-neighbours-along garden that held on tightly in their swaying nests and bravely outrode the hooley of a gale (unnamed by weathermen but the strongest this year - in my village, at least).
GREEN
But the daffodils stood brightly defiant in the gale. And fruit blossom is bursting all around me. My Japanese Maple is waiting to unfurl and the fuschia-pink Camelia I inherited is hanging onto its exotic flowers.
The point is: Nature is moving forward with an unstoppable surge of green. So, I decided to tap into Nature's positivity!
Now, I wouldn't call myself anything more than a Garden Centre Gardener - in that, I buy whatever catches my eye in a garden centre and plant it. I've never tackled seeds and all that malarky.
Well, I don't have a huge garden. I don't have a plot to dig. I have no grass. It's a courtyard garden, slabbed edge to edge, with raised flowerbeds planted up with cottage-style perennials & herbs. But, I suppose, I can accommodate some more tubs?
So when I received a flimsy plastic greenhouse (H195cm x W50cm x D45cm) from my sis for my birthday, I was a bit nervous & skeptical! I could only place it against a north-facing wall (not the best direction).
Nevertheless, I secured it at the base with tent pegs and then to the cottage wall with garden wire and masonry nails. I expected it would fly off to Portmahomack in the first gust. However, it is still standing!
A week ago I planted up some seed trays with a hanging basket mix and various herbs. I even made some make-shift watering cans from plastic milk bottles by putting holes in the lid. These watering cans, once filled and placed inside the flimsy plastic greenhouse, will keep the water warmer and provide some ballast for the base.
Then - again - I crossed my fingers.
And waited.
And waited.
When all the seeds sprouted, I felt an almost maternal joy - like I had personally coaxed them into life! Yes, I know that seeds just want to sprout and given the right conditions, they will do so spontaneously.
But without that flimsy plastic greenhouse, I would never have tried.
So, what else can I try before it's too late? Maybe a tub of veggies? I'll need to buy fertiliser & bonemeal, bamboo canes, a riddler, new gardening gloves, more seed trays and more. Maybe it's time to seriously think about a kneeling pad? Maybe my finger tips are greening up? Maybe I'm turning into a proper gardener? : )
ADVICE
Don't be Brexit BLUE. Spend around £15 on a flimsy plastic greenhouse and start thinking GREEN.
Remember the saying, A Gardener Believes in Tomorrow.
Someone HAS to be an optimist.
TURN GREEN!
