Today was such a lovely day: it made me forget Christmas and think of spring, besides wanting to go out! It must be the first day we have had a proper blue sky and sun in over a month.

I have taken off the decorations from the tree, which has gone back to my back garden. As I put it back, I realised I have quite a few one, two and three-year old hazels and beeches in pots that need a home.

The allotment is not in too bad a way, even thought weeds are proliferating and I spent all my time clearing a couple of beds. I am taking out the oldest strawberries from their bed of three years: anyone knows if it is worth breaking down the root clumps and re-plant the buds somewhere else?

Garlic and onions have been pushing out their little leaf-tops for a while now, but I still have to sow my broadbeans.

We had the snow, then a thick fog so it was a great time to spend indoor and relax, doing all the stuff I had left for months, some for years, like making pasta!

I did my stocktaking: it came out last year I had been particularly keen on flowers, and fruit. I made a conscious decision to get more fruit, as I find them a really rewarding category (figs apart) to grow, and they give pleasure year after year. So I bought a persimmon plant, a couple more grapes and soft fruit galore, besides pomegranate (seeds). But I had not realised I was getting so many flower seeds!!!

At the end of the holiday period, we finally got a couple of days with timid sun behind clouds, which were perfect to go at the allotment, plant some onions and pick lovely – and sizeable – Jerusalem artichokes.

— Post From My iPhone

The other day I received an email from one of my favourite suppliers, Garden Organic, suggesting that I gave someone for Christmas an adopted vegetable from the Heritage Seed Library. While your money goes into funding the conservation of a heritage veggie variety, the recipient of the present receives an awareness raising card; in some cases, when the veg is not that rare, they also receive a packet of the adopted vegetable’s seeds.
I was intrigued by the idea for a present to my auntie, who taught me my passion for gardening.
However, there were two issues:

• First, I have never seen my auntie grow veg. Still, I thought, she has a big garden, and might enjoy some veggie growing, if she finds herself with some seeds;
• Pea, bean, pepper or tomato, I could not find an adoptable vegetable that might be interesting enough for her to give growing it a go.

So I decided I would make her a gift of the full Heritage Seed Library membership for one year instead. With the membership, you get up to six varieties of veg of your choice (depending on availability). I can help my auntie, who does not speak English, choose some vegetables she would like to try, and they will arrive by post anywhere in the EU.
I am sure my auntie will appreciate conservation of something with a heritage. And if she is really not keen on growing veggies herself, she can always give the seeds to her friends who do.

I have uploaded a few pictures of the plot, the last of autumn…

After posting about “winter blues”, I have been thinking about why I am not so keen on gardening right now, and came up with a list of possible factors.

• First of all, I think I have associated the allotment with British discrimination of foreigners. I really do not think someone can do anything good when they feel uncomfortable as unwelcome guests – which is what I feel increasingly in the UK, and the shady behaviour of the council about the allotment has increased that perception for me; I feel under scrutiny, almost threatened that any shortocomings of mine will look so much worse just because I am a foreigner, which puts me off;
• Second, the competing, incompatible demands of work (with increased travelling, and having to study to remain competitive) and gardening make me 1. very tired 2. feel as if I cannot do both together very well, and guess what: I do not like to do things half badly and I have a mortgage to pay… And anyway how many crops did I lose last year because I couldn’t tend to the plants properly, despite the hard work I put into it?
• Running out of space and not being able to do a proper crop rotation again makes me feel I cannot do a proper job, and I said I am quite a perfectionist… that combines with the limited control on where stuff comes from (i.e. manure, compost etc) and I ask myself: is it worthwhile?
• Not quite sure how to work with the environment, I get frustrated when my gardening undermines my principles: i.e. I want to encourage insects in the garden, but to do gardening now and clear up to a decent state I have to displace the very hybernating insects that I am trying to encourage… I guess this feeling comes from my lack of knowledge, and I do not have time to find out more…

Well, it was good to talk them through, get them off my chest. As I re-read them, they might be that tinsely bit exaggeratedly pessimistic… better to be off and plant some garlic (even if not in a rotation) while the sun is out and to make most of the time, before the Uni essay is due for writing…