Yeeha … it’s Spring. I can’t believe we’ve finally made it. My peas and broadbeans are blossoming and my nasturtiums have sprouted. Though everyone warns me that it’s hard to grow apricots in Blackheath because of late frosts, I’ve decided not to take this lying down. For the first time in my life I’ve started to scour weather reports to find predictions of frost ahead of time. I lost all my lemons this winter and I’m damned if I’m going to lose my apricots too! I’m gathering old glass windows to cover my seedlings and soft gauzy fabric to cover my trees. I’m certainly not letting my dreams of apricots vanish without a fight! The thought of all that luscious orange fruit straight off the tree is enough to motivate me to action. Continue reading →

Wow this flu has been a doozy! Late night blogging has been out of the question as I’ve attempted to recover. Two things that have helped the most have been sunshine and flowers. Flowers are one of the barometers in my life – if I have fresh flowers in the house I know I’m remembering to reserve a place for beauty. They also mean that I’ve made time to go out into the garden and smell the ‘roses’ and, when I’ve been struggling with flu, they help to cheer me up because they remind me of sunshine. Continue reading →