Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
23rd March 2024
Give Peas A Chance
My own veggie plans this year are leaning heavily toward ‘giving peas a chance’ – or growing peas. Lots of peas. And even more peas. There is nothing better than picking them and eating most of them before you get back to the house. Adam Alexander, aka the Seed Detective, recommends ‘10 rare and delicious Heritage and Heirloom pea varieties to grow for maximum flavour’ on his ‘generously-informative’ website, so it made sense to order from him.
I looked forward to forward to receiving Hangman’s Door, Tom Thumb and a mystery substitute for Cockpit – all varieties which may sound a bit like a new board game – and as an extra bonus they all arrived on my birthday. You can find out more about these varieties – and much more – on Adam’s website. www.theseeddetective.co.uk
Sex In The Garden
And another lovely surprise I had in the post for my birthday last week was this book (see photo) from my Uncle. Despite the dubious title, and even more dubious photograph, it is a wealth of wisdom covering all aspects of plant propagation and reproduction and with many other sections containing detailed drawings and designs for topiary, mazes, labyrinths and even gate piers – we don’t get asked for many of those these days. The Analytical Arrangements of Botanical Terms is an absolute delight and the diagrams of the ‘sprinkling apparatus of the Acanthus’ both interesting and intriguing.
And I adore the section that reads, “Many people are disturbed by the presence of bees and wasps in the garden because of the common fear of being stung. It is true that bees and wasps do have stings and do use them in defence of their nests, however it is unusual for anyone to be stung by a foraging bee or wasp unless the insect is sharply disturbed. Since these pollinating insects make such an important contribution to our food production and ecology, we should make some compromise in our attitudes towards them. Some honey bees visiting your garden will also be spreading the benefits of their activity indiscriminately around the neighbourhood within a 3 mile radius. Considered in this light, we should find it easy to put into proper perspective their occasional misplaced defensive activities.’
How can you not enjoy reading a book with that calibre of text. Thanks Uncle John, great choice.
Spring In Your Step
As ‘astronomical spring’ arrived on Wednesday, (meteorological spring began on March 1st, and spans March, April and May), we are now precisely midway between mid-winter and mid-summer.
Astronomically speaking, the first day of spring is marked by the spring equinox, which falls on March 19, 20, or 21 every year. The equinox happens at the exact moment worldwide, although our clock times reflect a different time zone – for us this year it was Wednesday 20th at 3:06 am
The spring equinox varies in date as the Earth’s orbit around the Sun takes slightly over 365 days (365.24 days to be precise) and to compensate, the Gregorian calendar adds an extra day every four years, creating leap years like 2024. As a result, the March equinox shifts approximately six hours later each year. For instance, in 2023 it was around 9:24am, this year it was at 3:06 am and in 2025 it’ll be at 9:01am. And as it’s connected to the leap year system that we don’t have to think too hard to remember the date of the spring equinox – it’ll be 20th March until 2044, and will then be 19th March instead.
The word Equinox comes from Latin, meaning “equal nights”, reminding us that it is one of the two days in the year where the day and night are both exactly 12 hours. Whilst there’s no telling what kind of weather we will get around the ‘beginning of spring’, after Wednesday (20th) the days are now longer than the nights. Nights won’t be as long as they were on March 19th again until the autumn equinox on September 22nd.
If that’s not confusing enough, the solstices and equinoxes are not the same. The difference between them is due to the length of the day (and night). Equinoxes feature nearly equal day and night lengths, while solstices mark the shortest (winter) and longest (summer) days. And whether you followed all that or not, I think the main thing about the arrival of ‘astronomical spring’ is that we all hope it will bring some sunshine with it.
Popeye Goes Pink
Tuesday 26th March is National Spinach Day, indicating that there really does seem to be a ‘national’ day for everything. Depending on your upbringing there will be one of two people that you immediately associate with spinach. I have read that, ‘Possibly the most famous person in history to be associated with spinach is 16th-century noblewoman, Catherine de’ Medici, who ruled France from behind her three sons for many years. Originally from Florence, Italy, she moved to France when she married King Henry II. It is said that Catherine loved spinach and made sure her cooks served it at every meal. Because of this, even today, meals that are made with spinach are often known as “Florentine” in honour of the birthplace of Catherine de’ Medici.’
Or if you’re like me, Popeye is the first person that I associate with the leafy vegetable. He was a pretty cool ambassador for spinach and it’s health benefits and it is indeed packed with nutrients such as iron, vitamin A and calcium.
Spinach is actually part of the ‘goosefoot’ family, with close relatives being Swiss chard and Quinoa, as well as all the beets. Spinach has a few different varieties that offer different shapes and sizes of leaves and of course, I highly recommend Glitter Spinach – also called Tree Spinach – or Chenopodium giganteum ‘Magenta Spreen, after growing it for the first time last year. ‘
I loved its striking visual impact and glittery pink leaves (honestly) as well as the fabulous flavour, and I’m not alone; Sarah Raven claims, ‘It’s one of the most asked about plants in our garden, and has intense, almost glittery, brilliant pink baby leaves which look dazzling in a mixed leaf salad.’
It also self seeds prolifically so I am hoping for a bumper crop this year. I’m not sure what Popeye would have made of Glittery Spinach, maybe it’s more of a Barbie-esque era, but I’m hoping it makes me as strong as Popeye and not as irritating as Barbie.
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