I have a garden again. Last summer I was between homes. The summer before that I managed to get a few runner beans out of a pot in the courtyard of my Paris flat. But I’m pretty sure that the constant smoking from my neighbors stunted the plant’s growth. And maybe the fact that I didn’t water them much.
This year, I have borders and a patio for pots. Even a shed. I don’t go too far into the shed because of the spiders and other stuff that have decided to live in there. However, at the first sight of sunshine I am outside, pulling up weeds or despairing at where something has dug up my bulbs.
I’m an enthusiastic if somewhat rubbish gardener. This year I have planted:
- Carrots (expiry date on packet: 2007)
- Parsnips (from the same mega pack that expired last year)
- Runner beans (one of which has come up – one pot remains mysteriously quiet)
- Potatoes (these are coming on well, but hey, you don’t actually have to tend them)
- Peas (two out of five have come up so far)
- Mixed salad leaves (some of which have been eaten by slugs)
- Rhubarb (all of which has all eaten by slugs)
- Some herbs (four varieties, two of which look identical)
- Chillies (which I won’t eat but they came free with a magazine)
- Tomatoes (the great success! Three baby plants on the windowsill)
Gardening is a great antidote to office life. It’s outdoors for one, and at the moment it feels like I spend way too much time in the confines of the office. And plants grow when they feel like it, no scheduling or complex thought processes required.
I am still being quite project management-y about it all. I have a Gardening Journal in which I write down what I’ve ordered and what I’ve planted. There is a space for Garden Projects and I have a grand plan to build a new flower bed at the end of the garden, for colour-matched bedding plants. Whether or not I will ever get round to it or not I don’t know, but I have mapped out what I have to do, where the new bed will go, what resources are required and the dependencies between the different tasks. I haven’t put in the timescales yet. Maybe that’s why so far the percent complete stands at zero. I’ll let you know how it goes!
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