It may be the shortest day, but because of the unusually warm weather there are signs of growth and splashes of colour all around, despite the wind, wet and gloom.

 

Outside, the bulbs are pushing with determination up into the light while inside the greenhouse I am almost running out of room for the sweet pea seedlings all at different sizes. Some even need potting on now as strong white roots are starting to peek out of the bottom of the pots. The plan for these is to plant them at the plot in March. It looks as if there will be plenty of spares to sell on the Spring Homesown stalls too.

As soon as January comes, I will make the next sowing; wait a month or so and sow the final batch in March. Hopefully this will give us a longer and more staggered supply for the markets.

And it’s not only sweetpeas to look forward to next Spring: in the greenhouse, salvia and penstemon cuttings look healthy under cover and the tiny seedlings of Heartsease violas, a bit fragile, will welcome more light as the days get longer after today. Cornflowers blue and black are growing well  despite the dull conditions and the larkspur seedlings look perky.

Being able to sit in the shelter of the greenhouse, gently potting on seedlings, with the wind howling around it and the light getting darker is a new source of happiness.