Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
17th January 2026
Book Worm
So January hasn’t offered many easy gardening days so far. I’ve managed to get a few under my belt but have also been making the most of Yogi Days, days where I can be at home with my four legged friend, reducing my own to-do list, and reading.
Occasionally I am overwhelmed by guilt at the amount of books ‘someone’ will have to sort out after my day. That annually triggers an intended pruning of the book shelves, which always ends up in me sitting on the floor reading a ‘good book’ that I had forgotten about. So, my book shelves are still groaning under the weight of my beloved books. They surround one of my rooms like a big hug and break-away book shelves have found their way to any other available wall space too. I even have stacks of books in the bedroom – not on the bedside tables but as the bedside tables.
Of course, I’m not alone. Other bibliophiles include Ernest Hemingway who amassed 9,000 books, Thomas Jefferson with nearly 6,500 and maybe a bit more surprising, the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld who had a collection of 300,000 books and Nigella Lawson who Is often photographed sitting in her extensive library. Then there’s the 76-year-old former sugar plant worker in India who has been collecting books since the age of 20 and has amassed over two million titles.
Most of my friends have gone over to Kindle and Audio books but whilst I appreciate the few advantages of them, you can’t beat holding a book, turning pages and just the physicality of it all. Around the cottage, my books feel like ‘company’, each one with it’s own story and purpose. I have reference books – admittedly Google has meant a lot of them have a thin layer of dust on them – autobiographies, and a huge amount of books on nature. And of course there’s the obligatory ‘shelf-help’ section.
Disappointingly, I don’t retain a fraction of what I have read but it doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of their company – and it means that on unfriendly gardening days, I can read them again.
3 Types of People
Something I recently re-read was that there will be three types of people in your life.
Leaf People – those who just burst in for a relatively short spell, are uplifting but then leave as quickly as they arrived.
Then there are Branch People – those who offer support at various stages of your life. They tend to be around for longer but still tend to drift off in other directions.
And then there are Root People – those who are in your life for the long haul and tend to go unnoticed a lot of the time. Root People stay, no matter what the season and weather.
Ex-seed-ingly Good Ideas
As well as reading books, I still use notebooks and pens a lot too. Especially this time of year where I make copious lists and sketch out ideas for my and my client’s gardens.
It’s nice to have that bit of extra thinking time that the spring and summer months will soon snatch back. I do use the computer for ideas and research, and it is particularly useful for checking out new products that are available. This year I’ll be sorting out a good irrigation system for my raised beds (and suggest you do the same), trying (again) to get the hang of growing micro-greens, and chasing up – and hunting down – those ideal non-slip working boots.
I always try out a few new unusual veggies or plants too and this year I have chosen the sprouting cauliflower called ‘Fioretto’. This unusual cauli has long, tender stems and small, open florets, offering a sweeter, milder, nutty flavour than regular cauliflower. It’s ideal for eating raw, sautéing, or roasting. They are grown similarly to traditional cauliflower but harvested as shoots emerge from leaf bases, for longer yields. I’ve also chosen ‘Cauliflower Sprouting Murasaki Fioretto’, which has been bred in Japan and is similar to the Fioretto but the florets are a striking purple colour. They retain the vibrant colour when cooked and are also sweet and nutty in flavour. Both varieties look pretty good in the veg patch or in mixed borders (controversial, I know), and therefore are often referred to as ‘edible bouquets’.
I’m often attracted to new varieties by their colour and another ‘new cauliflower on the block’ is the bright orange Cauliflower ‘Amoresco (Amo 125) F1’. It’s a Romanesco cauliflower and the bright orange florets (or curds) stay as vibrant when cooked. It is predicted to be a big hit in fine dining restaurants very soon.
Out of pure fascination I have also ordered Courgette Zephyr, which is a bottle shaped courgette with the top half being yellow and the bottom half a contrasting pale green. It looks so posh and apparently the flavour is ‘superlative’. It can be picked as early as 50 days after planting when the young fruits reach about 4 inches long.
To encourage little green fingers – or just grow as a snack-and- talking point – why not try the Half Pint Pea. This very-small-veg reaches just 12-15 inches tall and is perfect for growing on a windowsill. When the pods appear you can move it to the table as a novel – and snacking – table decoration.
Similarly ‘Dill Teddy’ can be grown and ‘shown off’ in the same way. It’s a lovely little dwarf variety of dill, but with thicker and compact vibrant green leaves and fast growing and slow to bolt, it’s perfect for windowsills – or balconies – and table centrepieces.
All the above fancy-pants seeds can be bought at www.plantsofdistinction.co.uk and it’s well worth browsing through the whole website for lots of other options too.
Whilst to me, all these new varieties are like shiny things to a magpie – and always worth trying out – don’t forget the Heirloom veggies for the best ‘old fashioned flavour’.
The best place to go for those varieties is to Alex Alexander, also known as the Seed Detective at www.theseeddetective.co.uk You’ll find lots of useful advice and interesting information there too. Make yourself a cuppa before popping into the website, as you’ll be there for a while. Enjoy browsing – and buying – after all January is the perfect month for a bit of ‘armchair gardening’.
Am I a root person or a bough?