Man Shed

Well that’s out of the way then for another year! The decorations are down, the tree has gone to recycling and you are still finding Christmas tree needles in the carpet, sofa, bathroom and even in the bedroom…..

And so to another gardening year and a month when nothing happens for us gardeners. But wait, think again! However harsh the weather, there a jobs to be getting on with and plants and shrubs to enjoy, if you just take a moment. The gardener is an optimist individual, when the turn of the year brings anticipation and time for a fresh start. Spring is in the distance and thoughts turn to the eagerly awaited bulbs fighting their way to the surface against overwhelming odds – the good old daffs and tulips to name but two. A melange of colour to brighten even the darkest of winter days.

What about the lovely snowdrop? After the bleak autumn and the first thrash of winter, the simple snowdrop brings a ray of sunshine into a sometimes dull start to the year.

The garden may be sleeping at the moment, the days short and the nights long, but it is now time to plan, to dream, to anticipate. One thing that can be done from the comfort of your own sofa (perhaps, dare I say it, with a glass of a favourite something) is to peruse the seed catalogues. Seeds are cheap bearing in mind the potential benefits of a food and flower filled summer. In these austere times, not only do you get the satisfaction of growing your own, but also happy in the knowledge that it means a few less trips to the supermarket for tasteless imported vacuum packed vegetables!

Another satisfying activity in the winter months is giving nature a hand, and more especially the birds. Who can resist the chirrup of the robin, the chatter of the sparrows and the aria of the blackbird. And all you need to do it to make sure your bird feeder is topped up regularly and, to take another step, install some bird boxes – site them pointing roughly northeast to shelter them from the prevailing winds and then you can feel proud when you

see them nest building and subsequently observe the young taking their first peek onto a new world.

Oh and then there is the shed – sometimes known as the ‘man-shed’. A lair of homo toolsareus, equipped with workbenches, tool boxes, saws, and all sorts of devices to make gardening easier. However at this time of the year, the only items to be used are the corkscrew, the chair and the heater. You might sometimes hear movement when said occupant stirs himself (or herself) to clean a spade or trowel, but mainly it’s the sounds of Classic FM or Radio 2 that’s heard. Well it keeps them from getting under your feet.

Enjoy the fresh start – you never know, it might be better than last year.

Malcolm Richardson