Slim Pickings

I hate the fact that Valentine’s Day falls in the middle of February. For an event centred on giving flowers (and chocolates), why on earth couldn’t it be in any other month; any but February. February is month where the garden is barely ticking over, let alone in flower. It would be so much easier in summer; all I would have to do to fulfil my Valentine’s obligation is to:

1. Step out of the kitchen doors into the garden
2. Wave shears in the vague direction of plants
3. Fill a vase with results
4. Present to other half
5. Receive compliments and fawning over beautiful cut flower arrangement

Instead, this is what happens:

1. Step out of the kitchen doors into the garden
2. Begin to freeze in the cold weather
3. Try and find some plants to wave shears at
4. Try and detach handle of shears, which has become frozen to wet gloves
5. Generally fail
6. Retreat indoors
7. Order a take out as consolation and watch old re-runs of “Gardeners’ World”

What’s been generally agreed between us in the past is a compromise in the form of an IOU to have a vase of flowers from the garden in Summer as a deferred Valentine’s day gift. Going out to eat is optional and if we do, at least the price will be half and we won’t have to book.

Meanwhile, I’ll have to wait for signs of life:

It’s not ready for cut flowers, yet.

Things are stirring though. Despite it being “deep” winter, there is real heat in the sun. A clear day makes the temperatures rocket in the sunshine and plants in the greenhouses risk baking. Those planted out in full sun are starting to wake up and flashes of colour are beginning to appear:

Spot the red.

As part of investing in that IOU, a “pick and mix” lily border was planted. This a very small and short strip of border that used to be filled with carex grass, stumps of dead buddleia and weeds. I cleared it out last summer and left it “fallow”, intending to do something with it at some point. It was after a trip to the supermarket only recently that I was given a bag of mixed lily bulbs and that small strip was the perfect place to plant them. I actually had to go and ask for another bag since ten bulbs didn’t quite fit the space.

There are lily bulbs under there, I hope.

Finally, there’s the front border, the one planted with seven new bare-root roses. The grand plan all along was to have roses to pick in the summer and this “David Austin Border” will hopefully supply that. This should be the ultimate vase-filler, should all else fail – at least, it should do in a few years. At the moment, there’s a long way to go to get from planted sticks to fully laden flowering shrubs.

I’m perhaps being a little too optimistic with the secateurs.

At the moment I feel as though I’m on tenterhooks; glimpses of Spring are all around, plants are gradually waking up and I’m looking forward to the first full season in the garden. The bare root roses, the lily bulbs and all the other plants in the garden are a promise away from flowering, just like my Valentine IOU.