Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
30th July 2022
Goodbye July, Hello August
Folklore has it that if the first week in August is unusually warm, the winter will be white and long, and for every foggy morning in August there will be a snowy day in winter.
In the 19th century, Scottish meteorologist Alexander Buchan analysed the weather patterns and found that there were several periods during the year when the normal seasonal rise or fall of temperature is halted or reversed for a time. For example, the 9th –14th May is often a cold period and 3rd –14th December an unseasonably warm 10 days.
These are called ‘Buchan spells’ and we have two in August. The 6th to the 11th is often cooler than average and records show that the 12th to the 15th is often unusually warm, often providing a ‘heatwave’.
Of course, the Buchan spells were defined well before our weather and seasons went ‘rogue’ and before the word ‘unprecedented’ made everyone roll their eyes.
It’ll be interesting to see if these predictions still stand though – I’ve made a note to check.
Bag It
I love the saying, “I’m too busy looking after my own grass to notice if anyone else’s is greener.”
And I certainly am busy looking after everyone’s garden at the moment, and the grass is the only thing that’s not very green and growing at a rate of knots. Brambles, bracken and nettles don’t seem to have even noticed the hot dry weather and are ‘reaching for the skies’. I always keep a pair of secateurs in my back pocket or holster and am forever snipping away at belligerent brambles, deadheading roses and cutting back over-enthusiastic climbers from windows, gateways and other accesses (including along some of my Yogi walks).
I think it’s often the best you can hope for at this time of year. The boys tease me that I drag a bulk bag around various gardens like Linus, Charlie brown’s best friend in the comic strip Peanuts, drags his security blanket behind him. Despite many improvements in gardening tools, an old bulk bag, or builders bag, is still the best thing to put everything you cut back into. Just keep testing the weight and don’t fill it beyond your carrying capacity.
You can even get neat little trolleys for moving them about now, although most of the gardens I work in are steep with narrow paths meaning that I have to sling the bag over my back. Where access is easier, I still find a wheelbarrow does the job of moving a ‘full and fat bulk bag’ about, so in the words of Deborah Meaden, “I won’t be investing”.
Bootiful
Something I will be investing in very soon though is a fabulous pair of Talolo Cowgirl Wellies. Once purchased, I’ll obviously be wearing mine anywhere and everywhere, (as I’m also now a line dancing convert – check out Rhinestone Cowgirls for a class near you). They are obviously the best wellies for festivals too.
Inspired when I showed her the Talolos, a friend decorated her own wellies with paint marker pens (dry paint pens) as a last minute wardrobe twist before last weekend’s Latitude Festival and had lots of favourable comments.
I suppose it would also be a good way to personalise your wellies too – a bit like Paddington Bear’s label, “If found, please look after this festival goer/gardener.”
Curry Flavour
As always, I have had mixed results with harvesting veggies in my garden this summer. My spinach has been spectacular – every morning I collect fresh eggs from my hens and pick a handful of spinach on the way back to the house for breakfast. At this time of year I can also pick a few ripe tomatoes to go with it. That one meal makes all the effort worthwhile and is just a great start to the day. Dinner out of the garden is an added bonus.
A real winner this year has been my coriander. I have had it virtually with every dinner – from salads and stir fries to soups and of course, curries. I sow it successively to maintain a good supply but it doesn’t like being sown in the really hot weather. As it’s slowed down the last few weeks I’ve been eating the flowers and seeds in salads but am now sowing again. This time I’ve chosen the variety ‘Leisure’, as it is supposed to be slower to bolt than all other forms.
I’ll keep sowing little and often, and am also sowing indoors (in a ramshackle greenhouse) now to try and keep picking as long as possible. ‘Leisure’ is highly recommended for cold weather sowing, preferring to be in cold, damp weather to hot dry conditions and apparently can be grown through the winter relatively easily. We’ll see.
Voice Training
Funny how things work out. A few weeks ago I wrote that Sir Gareth Edwards had handed over a substantial cheque to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) at Dan-yr-Ogof Showcaves. The money was raised from donations made on board the unique Charity Land Train, which takes visitors around the The National Showcaves Centre for Wales (Dan-yr-Ogof).
Last week I mentioned Steve Thomas, cameraman and caver, who I had worked with previously and who had helped in the incredible cave rescue under the Brecon Beacons and had also been part of the film crew that documented it for BBC Wales’ ‘54 Hours Under the Ground.’
Earlier this week I recorded a voice-over for Dan-yr-Ogof’s Charity Land Train – this time taking donations in support of our four Welsh Air Ambulances – and which was recorded by, yup, you’ve guessed it – Steve Thomas.
It’s a funny old world – and as Maeve Binchy added, “And once you realise that, you’re half way there.”
Loved it!
You are so clever with words.
Love reading your column.