Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
25th January 2020
Da Dog!
I am an avid reader, and enjoy an eclectic mix of authors and topics, but this week’s gift-to-myself was a little unusual, even for me.
‘Teach Your Dog Welsh’ is a beautiful and clever little book by Anne Cakebread and published by Y Lolfa.
Yogi, my terrier-ist, came from Llampeter and I have always joked that her intermittent inability to respond to a command is due to the fact that she is Welsh speaking. Now she, nor I, have any excuse as Anne sets out the most basic doggy directions in Welsh. It’s obviously a clever way for the ‘upright’, ‘hooman’ or owner to learn too.
One of my regrets is that I didn’t spend more time listening to my nan who was Welsh speaking. The trouble was she would always revert to Welsh when she was annoyed with us, so we were usually beating a hasty retreat rather than trying to translate what she was ‘barking’ at us. Subsequently, my only disappointment with ‘Teach Your Dog Welsh’ is that ‘dan draed’ isn’t included. It is a phrase that I use a lot with Yogi after hearing it repeatedly, as a youngster, from my nan. It means “get from under my feet!’
Flower Power
Over the last few years I have grown more and more flowers in amongst my veggies in the veggie patch, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, gluts of veg were getting a bit monotonous, there are only so many broad beans or runner beans you can eat and I’m not a great one for freezing veg. Secondly, I really like the additional colour and interest of flowers amongst the veg. The flowers I grow are either great for cutting for the house or are edible too, so it’s win-win. And thirdly, it’s good for my bees, and the other pollinators, of course.
I start annuals like Cosmos off in a tray indoors and plant it out at the end of May for the most beautiful bed of vibrant colour amongst the veggies, as well as flowers to pick through until October. They really were stunning last year and the only reason I started them in a seed tray was because Yogi the terrier-ist thinks the garden is as much hers as mine and prefers the easy digging in the raised beds to bury bones and chews. Cosmos, and other annuals, can also be sown straight in the ground later in the year.
Nasturtiums are another favourite of mine and despite growing easily outdoors, I start those off indoors too. They prefer poor soil, otherwise you’ll get all leaves and few flowers – although the flowers are great in salads. I also learned that nasturtiums are a great tonic for chickens and also foxes can be deterred from the chicken run if they can’t see through the wire. Last year I grew nasturtiums over the chicken pen wire to provide cover for them as well as providing an all-you-can-eat buffet!
Another of my favourite annuals is the Tagetes signata, or Signet marigold, mainly thanks to Mum, who used to sow the seed in used egg shells and then germinate in egg trays. When they are ready to plant out, you just crush the shell and plant with the rootball for added nutrition. The ferny foliage and pretty little flowers are much more natural looking than their French and African relations and the bees adore them. Another bonus is that the carrot fly detests them so planting them near carrots will help deter the pest from your crop. And that’s reason number four for adding flowers to the veg patch.
There is a huge choice of flowers suitable for including in the veggie garden and now is an ideal time to do your research, either on-line or on foot at the garden centres. As always I maintain the most important thing is to try something new! You’ll be glad you did.
Give Us a Scwtch
I have a bit of a reputation on site for using the odd Welsh word (seldom a complete sentence) and for adjusting words to suit me. Dad used to do the same and my brother has similar traits too.
‘Dim problem’ is a favourite response to a ‘Thank You’; Hoffi coffi translates into ‘Do you want a coffee?’; Poplar trees were known as ‘Populars’; and my brother still calls Comfrey, ‘Humphrey’.
The latest addition to our Diverse Dictionary is the ‘scwtch’ hammer. It is more commonly known in the trade as a scutch hammer and used for scutching (knocking off old mortar from bricks and paving). I have only just become acquainted with them as my brother has just bought one, along with a ‘scutch comb’ to shape stone for his wall. (see pic).
Being in Wales, they obviously had to become the scwtch hammer and scwtch comb. Dim problem!
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