Here comes the sun

The last week having been glorious with that wonderful early spring sunshine, the fingers are starting to itch to get out into the garden once again. February is a 'look-see' month, things are starting to stir in a very quiet way but if you look hard enough you can see a lot of evidence of the impending Springtime.

The Iris I planted in pots are now flowering well and many of you will be revelling in the snowdrops and Cyclamen, Hellebores and flowering shrubs such as Chimonanthus praecox and Viburnum as well as Mahonia and Skimmia.

Now is the time to prune clematis which flower between June and September. You can cut them right back now so that they make a good strong growth.

I have been busy reading lots of new gardening books this last few weeks, including Monty Don's wonderful 'Around the world in 80 gardens'. What a super book, a real garden travelogue with no need to leave the house! I'm also going through 'Gardeners' Question Time Plant Chooser', which is proving to be an excellent reference work with plenty of ideas for new planting.

Then there is Val Bourne's 'Natural Gardener', a chirpy little book which shows you how you can use organic principles to create a garden that is healthy with the balance to control pests and other hazards environmentally. Val Bourne has a very pleasant way of getting you excited about gardening and her books are an enjoyable and stimulating read, this one is no exception.

We review all these books on the website so be sure to keep a look-out for that. There are a lot of really excellent new titles coming out just now so don't miss any of our reviews.

If you have lost any pots to frost recently don't foget to empty them and transfer the inhabitants and then smash them for crock at the bottom of your other pots. I always do this, it is my bit for recycling and I am never short of broken shards when I come to plant up new pots or tubs.

I know not for why or reason, but I was reminded today of Bill and Ben, the flowerpot men, maybe because I was checking out on how many pots I had lost this winter - and that despite wrapping several of them in all forms of materials to protect them - but suddently those two cheeky chappies came to mind. I loved the programme as a child and maybe it was Weed that prompted me to become interested in gardening - who knows? Certainly, there is a drive to get kids interested in gardening now and especially in growing organically. Gardeners like Chris Beardshaw and organisations such as the RHS are all doing their bit to get our youngsters stimulated. This is important if we are to foster the right experiences in young people so that they too become interested in gardening when they grow up.

Many of us who love gardening will admit that they came to it early in life - in my case when I was about 7 or 8 - so it is important to get the kids interested. One problem is keeping them interested through their teens when it might not be seen as 'cool' to want to dig the soil - but at least if we get them hooked early on there is a chance that they may continue to want to garden throughout their life - even if they take time out while in their 'cool' teens.

It will soon be time to plan out our Flower Show Visits and the first of these will be Harrogate on 24th April. Keep up-to-date with all the show news by regularly visiting www.recklessgardener.co.uk

Happy gardening