Friday 4 December 2009

Winter gardening




You may well think that I am slightly unhinged to venture upon this topic (and you may well be right) in a week of iron-grey skies and rain lashing the roof-tops ... but the sun is smiling weakly upon my little plot this morning, and I think there is room for a small amount of seasonal optimism, in my case facilitated by a bloggy friend.



Not that I am requiring you to go outside to do your winter gardening - I would be the first to admit that I am a fair-weather gardener, and have usually retreated indoors before the end of October, only to emerge, blinking, into the first sunlight of early spring. My blood runs low and sluggish with the waning light, by December I have an overwhelming urge to hibernate, and I quail at the thought of January and February.



No, my favourite form of winter gardening is done indoors. On a dark and stormy night, I suggest that you curl up on a sofa with Monty Don (The Complete Gardener is my favourite), a cosy crochet granny blanket, and some seed catalogues - and then just dream of abundance to come.



The good thing about gardening is that there is always next year - never mind last year's failures, next year will be different. The soil will be different, the sun and rain will be different, the green fuse will ignite in a different way.



So sit and look at those vivid and winter-piercing pictures of good green things to come and think about what you would like to eat next summer. You can see from the pictures that I have plenty to look forward to already, thanks to the lovely Michela at Little Secrets From My Garden. I received the most wonderfully cheering parcel from her this week, full of the most exciting Italian seed packets, all wrapped in festive red tissue, and tied with gold.



And no, I didn't wait for Christmas to open it - I looked upon it as an Advent present instead, and wasted no time before investigating its contents. And I am afraid that I also wasted no time in consuming the immediately edible portion which was not vegetable in nature, but medicinally chocolatey.



So my winter dreams are now of sitting on my holiday sofa next summer, partaking of a fresh and flavoursome Mediterranean salad, and consuming quantities of elderflower champagne. I feel warmer and cheerier already, and thank you, Michela, for your kindness and generosity which has brought a little spring into my step, deep in the midst of winter.

25 comments:

harmony and rosie said...

Armchair gardening - there's nothing like it. And aren't you lucky to get such a wonderful Advent gift? Very generous and thoughtful.
Kate x

sarah { abeachcottage } said...

I miss English gardening so very much, actually it's one of the things I miss the most, especially the roses....well actually more just the possibilities of growing heaps of roses...apparently the coastal breeze here makes rose growing near impossible...I'm determined to have a go with DAvid Austin though lol!

enjoy the winter, the great thing about it is the unfolding of Spring

Sarah

Pipany said...

Mmm, that's brightened my wet morning too, thanks Pomona. I always discard any failures in the garden as mere blips to help the successes seem even more so. Straight on to the next thing with all the enthusiasm firmly in place (and yes, i am fair weather these days too) x

Michela said...

Hi Pomona, thank you so much for your kind words! I'm amazed by your ability to tell about some simple seeds packages in such a poetic way!

Karen L R said...

i agree, pomona...there is something magical about sitting by the fire, with a stack of seed catalogs, pencil, paper and gardening books on one's lap, with the cold and damp OUTside! happy dreaming!

Unknown said...

Hell Pomona! Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving your lovely comment too! Yes, winter is a time to look forward to the newness of the garden again. I always get the gardeners world magazine and sit cuddled up imagining the coming abundance! We are experimenting with a bit of winter growing in the greenhouse, and there are stilol some beets in the veggie patch too! Your parcel from Michela is wonderful, isn't she just such a sweetie! Have a lovely weekend! suzie. xxx

Sal said...

Your life sounds idyllic right now!
Have a great weekend!
;-)

Cathy said...

What a wonderful way to garden Pomona - from a cosy armchair in a warm room and dreaming of things to come. What a great prezzy from Italy, especially the choccy. I like looking through the gardening books in the charity shops - there are always masses of them and some quite recent. People seem to recycle their gardening books and their cookery books with great abandon. I love the garden mags at the moment too, with their wonderful pictures of frosty gardens.

Chrissie said...

Chocolate! Crochet blankie! Elderflower champagne! Mony Don! You certainly are being spoiled ... but you deserve it!

menopausalmusing said...

I loved the way you wrote about the "green fuse"..... I fully intended to get out into our garden this morning, only my cameral started playing up and I spent hours trying to sort it........ the thought of next year's plants (flowers in particular) is comforting during these grey, cold days....

MILLY said...

The sun was shining here as I finished off planting my spring bulbs, always put it off, then the frost arrives. All wrapped up, it was a lovely day to be outside.
Gardening indoors sounds like a better option, especially with all the added extras, all cosy and warm.
Thank you for visiting, and the lovely comments. Milly

Sarah said...

What a great way to garden! and what a lovely gift to receive.
Have a great weekend.
x

Unknown said...

Yummie. What a lovely winter garden. But, is that chocolate it see.

rockinloubylou said...

Advent present? I like it!

whoatemycrayons said...

What? you mean chocolate hasn't been classed as a medicine yet!?! x

. said...

That all looks delicious...does Italian chocolate taste very different from English? I'm carrying out a highly scientific experiment with regards to sweeties from around the world...
My raised bed is coming along a treat...the walls are in and a layer of poo goes in today, hurrah! x

...Nina Nixon... said...

Now that sounds like the best kind of gardening to me and Italian chocolate 'yum' that definitely helps with all this rain!

Have a wonderful weekend, hope you are all OK as well in return,

Nina xxxxxx

ps. we're all fine by the way - sorry!

Jennifer said...

Mmmmmm, I love curling up and looking at seed catalogues. What a wonderful present.

Paul C said...

'I have plenty to look forward to already.' So true; I just received a comprehensive seed catalogue today with fresh new hybrids plants to try next year. Beginning to anticipate the possibilities...

Victoria - Florence and Mary said...

Michela has been like Santa lately sending wonderful parcels to all her blog friends

Victoria xx

Sandra Evertson said...

So very lovely!
Sandra Evertson

suzy said...

oh that's a gorgeous post. as always.
xxx

Lucille said...

I love your green fuse. Time to cosy up with Montagu.

WV bloguo! It's a greeting.

Lola Nova said...

What a nice way to tend to the winter garden, with schemes and plots for next year's growth... To envision verdant ground planted with promise and fresh hope, willing a harvest, mouth watering with anticipation of future fruit. Without this quiet time inside, would we be able to rectify our past missteps; would we have a moment to hazard a plan for fortification? What grand ideas could we dream if not for a season of dormancy in which our fertile imaginations have room to blossom?
To the winter garden then, I'll meet you with sketches, brilliant catalogs and chocolate. I will promise myself more flowers - I will bring back the calendula, chamomile and the lemon verbena that I love.

Happy gardening!
x

Barbara said...

Makes the garden work seem lighter with that Summer vision I am sure. So well worth it.

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