Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
5th April 2025
Action Plans
Spring has represented new beginnings and growth more than usual this year. In just two short months Mum died, and my brother and I both had our first birthdays and Mother’s Day without her. It has brought ‘death’ much closer to the surface for me but also the importance, and gift, of life.
As the lambs gambol in the fields on their new wobbly legs, the birds hurry to build nests for new families and the splashes of lime green hawthorn leaves unfurl in the hedge rows, we are surrounded by new life, plans for new life and the promise of growth and ‘blossoming’.
One of the many things that I have learned in the last two months, is the importance of planning. There are always the most humbling parallels between gardening and life itself. Gardening teaches you to have faith, when you trust that the tiniest of seeds will develop into something fabulous; it also teaches patience, as we happily wait for newly planted fruit trees to bear fruit without berating them for the time they take. And we know that it all has a natural cycle. What is growing healthily now will one day return to the earth and provide nourishment for the next growing season and soil dwellers. It really is quite remarkable and all too often overlooked.
Planning is key in the world of gardening. If you don’t plan for the seasons and weather fluctuations – and predicable hiccups – then you will often miss out on harvests, flowers and ‘the fruits of your labour’. Soil care, pruning, sowing, planting, tying in, staking, mowing, and so many other gardening jobs, are all acts of ‘planning’. The garden centres were chock-a-block last weekend as the sun shone and with the promise of Easter around the corner. All people who were planning!
For me, planning means taking action before you have to or are forced to, therefore having the luxury of time and clear head-space to decide and choose how to do something.
I have also found planning to be self motivating and reassuring in so far as at least I ‘feel’ I have a modicum of control over a situation. That’s another plus when nature will most definitely accelerate away from us all around the middle of May. I think, as Easter is later this year, most gardeners will be lulled into a false sense of ‘control’ up until then. Be warned!
I believe the antithesis to planning is often chaos, so I highly recommend taking time to think about the things you could make easier – and enjoy – by planning now, rather than let procrastination turn that privilege into painful pandemonium. Whether you are ‘planning your work and working your plan’ in the garden or with something closer to your own heart, remember that whilst Martin Luther King may have had a dream, a plan is often more productive.
Circle of Love
The act of planning and the awareness of death merged into an unexpected response for me recently.
You will all know that Yogi, my best friend and wing dog of over 15 years is my absolute world. We have had some very scary health moments in the last couple of years but she is still by my side, providing unconditional love and the best kind of company.
I am painfully aware that will not always be the case.
So by way of the tiniest but meaningful compensation, I commissioned a ring to be made that contains her fur. It also contains the fur of her predecessor Tippy, (which I have kept in a locket for 16 years) and some of my own hair. The three of us will always be together in the most beautiful, solid titanium ring.
I researched many of the options to have your pet’s fur incorporated into jewellery and was very moved by the story behindwww.footprintsandwhispers.co.uk – I’ll let you read it online for yourself.
Amy made the whole experience a pleasure, and very personal as no thing nor question was too much trouble. She even sent me a photo, when I asked, of Rich constructing my ring, which I found fascinating and equally as poignant to keep.
Planning ahead, having that quality of care, and the fact that Yogi is still with me, definitely made it all so much easier to do.
Elevated Daffodils
I’m still thoroughly enjoying the prolonged flowering period of the daffodils this year.
Whilst I wrote about many daffodils being ‘blind’ (without flowers) I have also noticed that some of my own daffs are a lot taller than usual. It’s as though they beat the others to the feed trough!
The one in the photo is almost 2 ½ ft tall – I thought that must be close to a record so had a look and apparently the tallest daffodil is recorded as being ‘grown by M. Lowe in 1979 on the Isle of Wight, and reached a height of 5 feet and 1 inch. It was hotly contested in 2021 by a Southsea gardener who had measured his ‘elevated daff’ at 5 feet and 2 inches but for reasons not mentioned, the Guinness World Record office didn’t accept it.
So my lofty lovely has a little way to go – or grow – yet.
Celandine Carpets – Are Staying!
April usually strikes me as a ‘pink month’ as the cherry blossoms, camellias and pink-tinged magnolias usually take over from the yellow hues – daffodils, celandines and primroses – of March but this year they are flowering happily together and the celandine carpets seem more colourful than ever. I love the fact that they close up in cloudy weather and as daylight fades and open fully in the sunshine.
One of my first ever ‘weekend jobs’ was to remove celandines from a large bank at a nursing home – instructed to do so by their manager. I was about 14 and went home close to tears after the first day of hardly making a difference after the back-breaking work. Explaining to my Dad, he just shrugged and said, “Tell your boss that they are woodland plants, they make excellent ground cover and will prevent more pernicious weeds from developing – and they are staying where they are.”
So I did – and they did. And I have stuck to that ethos ever since, being reminded of my no-nonsense dad even more when I see celandine carpets.
The funny thing is that 40 years later you can actually buy little pots of celandines at the garden centre to plant in your garden or woodland. I always wonder what Dad – or my old boss – would have made of that.
Very thought provoking and well written.
Thank you for reminding of how important planning is.
Thoughtful reading. I lost my mum in July 2021. This year will be 4 years since she passed. I wonder where the time has gone! It wasn’t until she left us that I found out about her properly. She was brought up in Liverpool during WW2 and, as a teenager she had to go a long way to work, by ferry and bus. When there was bombing of Liverpool docks, which was frequent, she had to do the entire journey on foot and in the dark. She was 19 and had left home before her youngest sibling was born. There was far more to tell, but I only found out when I discovered a journal she had written in later life.
There are still surprises around the corner. I still miss her and wish I could have a conversation with her today.
Best wishes.