Don’t let the weather fool us!

What strange weather we’re having at the moment – just a few weeks ago my garden was buried under a couple of inches of snow, before the temperatures suddenly shot into double figures! I was reminded of something I’d seen about ‘the real seasons’ for gardeners: winter, fool’s spring, second winter, spring of deception, third winter, mud season, actual spring. I think we may have just had the spring of deception, so let’s not get carried away just yet! I’ve spotted a few lone bees on the hellebores and hopefully they won’t be caught out either. At least it won’t be too long before the clocks go forward and lighter evenings will really be here. This year more than any other I think we’re all looking forward to brighter times. One thing I did do in February (possibly in ‘second winter’!) was get my hedges cut – a close-run thing before the birds started nesting. And what a difference it has made – the whole garden not only looks neater but brighter and somehow bigger. And the birds are busy out there too so hopefully we didn’t mess with their routine too much! Regardless of the weather, there are still plenty of jobs we can be getting on with. Last weekend I sowed my chilli seeds indoors – I tried a few varieties last year and ‘Cayenne Red’ was by far the most successful so I’m growing them again. As you’ll see on our What To Do This Week pages (starting on page 37), this is now the time for sowing and planting, so whatever it is you’re planning to grow, have a great gardening week...