Thursday, February 22, 2007

year hurrying by

Thanks to those who have posted comments. I don't know why but I would have taken a bet on you being a Mac person Bob - just goes to show! Well the year is hurrying by - we are virtually at the end of February and hopefully that means that Spring is just that bit nearer.

We have had some really mild weather amid the sharp cold spells so it has been quite pleasant, however, not enough for me to get off my chair and go into the garden yet. There is still time.

Life has been pretty busy getting articles and stuff ready for Chelsea as well as all the other work that has to go on to keep the website going. I still haven't 'peeked' in my cardboard box to see if the begonias are OK, will keep that till the end of the week. We have been having a big debate on when to plant them. This week has mostly been taken up with research work for the website and my family history, which is becoming habit forming! It's like a drug and seems to affect everybody that starts their family history that way.

Anyway, there are some exciting things coming up on the website so keep logging in and don't forget to leave a post, we always like to hear from you.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Are you a Mac or a PC gardener?

In today's Times Michael Gove wrote a great piece on the difference between Mac and PC people. I liked it and it made me think in terms of gardeners. We at Reckless are Mac people, in fact I have been a Mac person since they were first brought on the market and still possess one of the first minute little Mac machines produced - no I am not going to sell it on Ebay it has far too many memories for that. It cost me thousands at the time but it was priceless in terms of the freedom it gave a journalist.

It reminded me of the first TVs which were installed in the 50s when we all had to sit right up to the screen to see it! Not very good for the eyes.

Anyway, the gist of the debate (as in the current advertising campaign) is that people with Macs are likely to be artistic, free thinking and free of spirit, creative and not very disciplined. They want to have fun. PC bodies, however, are more likely to be structured, want to put everything onto databases and classify and list everything.

So I got to thinking about that relationship aka the garden. Are Mac gardeners really the reckless ones who garden for fun and don't really throw a fit if something wilts or dies, who can live with the weeds and likes to see plants tumbling and carefree? Are PC gardeners the ones with the neat edges, no weeds in sight, databases full of planting instructions and plant lists and everything carefully arranged so that the whole effect is show perfect?

I don't know, but it is an interesting question. A garden is often an extension of a personality and so probably if that personality is a bit reckless then the garden will be also, if the personality is neat and trim, confined and orderly, then perhaps so too the garden! An interesting concept and one which might just stimulate some debate on the blog, so come on, Are you a Mac gardener or a PC gardener - the nation awaits!

Happy Valentines Day.

Friday, February 02, 2007

the sun is shining

At last the sun is shining and time has been spent weeding. Yes the back is a little better thanks Bob so I hope it stays that way for a little while. A couple of days ago we had the most glorious day in south Cumbia and it was a real treat to finally get out and do some tidying.

There were old twigs and sticks everywhere, old stalks from last year's missed perennials and the windy storms which we have had contributed to the general debris.

Well now the green wheelie bin is two-thirds full and I hope that another such dry sunny day will allow me to finish up what I started. Already, much is coming through and you have to be careful not to knock the heads off the emerging plants. The Camellias are just wonderful and performing really well including a sick one which was not at all happy last year but now seems to have responded to a prune and some TLC.

I intend to plant yet more roses this year so have been busy browsing through the David Austin catalogue to see what will suit. I have to try and buy blackspot resistent varieties because the wet weather in Cumbria is not good for roses, in fact many of my neighbours refuse to grow them because of this problem but they don't know what they are missing!

It's coming - I can feel it - Spring is just around the corner. Let's hope we get through February without too much trouble.