GARDENING
Grow Your Own By Emma Sousa
As I sit and write this, we are just moving into a new phase of easing the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, which shocked us all, despite the fact we knew they were coming, but which strangely now seem part of normal life. It has certainly been a strange year so far but one of the good things to come from these trying times we are going through is that many of us have discovered how wonderful our gardens are and, for those without a garden, how wonderful being outdoors really is. There has been an online dash for seeds, seedlings and all sorts of gardening goodies. Compost has literally been like gold dust and during the peak of lockdown you couldn’t find it anywhere. I had dahlia tubers still sitting in storage in mid-May because I couldn’t get hold of compost to pot them up - which I usually do some time in March depending on how organised I am! People were literally going crazy for their gardens and what with the quite 58
frankly wonderful weather we have had during the last few months, those lucky enough to have access to a green space in the form of an allotment, garden or park have been very spoilt indeed. Of course, what has made this all much easier is that people have had to time to spend planning and working on their little pieces of paradise. This goes for me too, because usually at this time of year I am so busy working on my wedding commitments (I’m a florist for those of you that don’t know) whilst juggling the other side of my business, which is growing seasonal flowers on my little London flower patch. This year I have had more time to manage the watering and weeding and sowing of seeds, potting them on and planting them out… you get the idea, but what has also been lovely is having the time to plan my teeny tiny home garden vegetable plot and grow healthy seedlings (and not leave them Cibare Magazine
www.cibare.co.uk
