Mid Winter Bits and Bobs.

[Geoff]

Start of the seed sowing (and wife annoying) season today. 10 x ¼ and 1 x ½ trays of primulas, meconopsis, helebores and gentian sown in the fridge (only taking up one shelf!) to stratify and two pots of basil in the airing cupboard.

[Stephen]

In the car club I hear of engine parts in the dishwasher and oven. Wait until I tell them of trays of germinating seeds in the fridge!

[Primrose]

We have a friend who keeps his fishing bait worms in the fridge and other bait in the freezer.

[Diane]

All sounds perfectly normal to me

[snooky]

Silly season on Ebay for buying snowdrops(Galanthus).One bulb of "Green and Gold" sold for over £350.

[oldherbaceous]

Really pleased with the way the little problem I had last year, is going. I now only need a PSA blood test every six months...

[Primrose]

Hardly a "little problem" OH!
That's excellent news and I hope you and Cook are celebrating the encouraging news. I have two close relatives suffering similar problems and understand the anxiety that can build up before each regular checkup.

Yiu can return to your digging with hopefully renewed vigour.

[Primrose]

Snooky, I wonder where these buyers and enthusiasts actually grow their snowdrops once they,ve acquiredthem.. In pots behind armoured iron railings to protect them from theft?

A few years ago I rather recklessly paid £6 each for two specialist snowdrop bulbs at a Wellford Park snowdrop festival day and planted them in patio containers to keep them separate from my ordinary garden border snowdrops. Yes, they are marginally taller and have slowly multiplied but to be honest they do not greatly differ from my ordinary bulbs, and even in my patio tubs I,m wary of accidentally digging them out when i pull out geraniums etc every autumn. I have to very carefully inspect their roots to ensure I don't have an expensive snowdrop bulb entangled in them.

I imagine the danger with these specialist bulbs is that unless they are protected and ringfenced and provision made for their future, if somebody dies bulbs just risk being turned out Into somebody's garden and integrated with ordinary plants where their speciality is never appreciated again (or accidentally end up in a compost heap,). I guess this is a risk all collectors of "special" items run uless they make specific long term provision for them.

My garden snowdrops all come originally from the garden of somebody who has since died so have a special memory. I suppose many of us have plants like that, which is a much more permanent way of celebrating a birthday or other special day than a box of chocolates!

[Diane]

Very glad to hear it OH. Good news indeed.

[Westi]

Congrats OH! That is very positive news!

Dig away OH! It is 6 months which is good news & so much growing & prep you can move back to between visits! OK each visit to the doc's will be an anxious event, but it sounds pretty confident to me that they say 6 months!

[oldherbaceous]

Thank you all for your kind words...I have been very lucky really, regarding being anxious about the whole thing... was lucky in that I could just keep working and that was enough to keep me positive about things all the way through.

[Shallot Man]

Thank you all for your kind words...I have been very lucky really, regarding being anxious about the whole thing... was lucky in that I could just keep working and that was enough to keep me positive about things all the way through.

OH. Should you wish to warm-up digging my plot. Feel free to contact me.

[Colin2016]

Only 14 days till start of seed sowing, can't wait as have seeds lying around since last November.

[retropants]

I still need to get the crumbling hardstanding up, so it will be pots and baskets again for me this year!!

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Shallot Man, how strange, I seem to have mis-laid your contact details.....