Grow little seeds grow

One of my main aims during my week off was to catch up on gardening and, in particular, to sow some seeds. I usually do this job at Easter but the poor little seeds would probably have frozen solid with the weather we've had, even with the protection of my plastic greenhouse.

Even my horrible cold wasn't going to deter me and it felt so good, so soothing and relaxing being out in the fresh air and the warmth of the sun.

Don't you just love seed packets? Such gorgeous colours. This year I'm growing a mixture of vegetables and flowers. I only have a small plot with limited growing space so some will be planted in soil and the rest in pots.

For vegetables, in the pots will be yellow courgette ('Parador') and carrots ('Nantes 5') and in the ground will be sugar snap peas ('Jessy') and dwarf yellow French beans ('Sonesta'). I've grown all of them before and they're pretty reliable. Later I'll also sow radish, rocket and spring onions.

For flowers, I'm trying a couple of packets which were free with a newspaper: nicotiana ('Roulette mixed') and stock. There was no picture on the stock packet so it'll be exciting to see what they look like.

I've also sown some thyme and lemon basil which were again free. I've never had much luck growing basil but it was worth another try. In the garden, I already have tarragon, chives and mint, though one of the varieties of mint doesn't seem to have survived the winter. In fact there seem to be a few plants which haven't made it through. I'm not giving up on them yet though - hopefully this recent bit of warmth will encourage them back to life. I've been eagerly and impatiently checking on my seeds every day watching for the tiniest hint of green. Come on little seeds, you can do it! Grow little seeds, grow!

Elsewhere in the garden, the buds on my flowering cherry are getting fatter and fatter and it surely can't be long before the pink petals within are revealed.

The ducks meanwhile have decided my roof is the perfect spot to keep an eye on the street!

I've been so lucky with the weather this week and although my cold has lingered long and hard, it didn't stop us getting out and about. In fact it made me even more determined to savour every second. There's been a bit of shopping, lunch with a friend and some fresh air near and far. There'll be more about that in the next couple of posts. In fact, the only thing I haven't done much of is crafting, although I've made a little progress with a couple of projects. I'm off to work on one of those now. Back soon. x