Taken from Lynne’s weekly column ‘Green Scene’ for the Western Mail
4th April 2026
Lots of Look Forward To
What a difference a week can make. Not only do we have an extra hour of daylight in the evenings – does that ever stop being exciting – but we are also in April.
Although I did wonder, during the recent wintery showers, if the clocks had gone forward an hour and the calendar back a month. When I referred to having all the seasons in one day, my brother retorted, ‘Where I was working, we had all the seasons in the time it took the kettle to boil.’
Despite the continued challenges of the weather, the gardens and ‘naturey bits’ are looking absolutely stunning now. I love this time of year, with the spring flowers and blossom taking centre stage, it’s just so uplifting. And I got really excited when I was walking through the woods last week and realised that we still have the bluebells to come. What a treat.
There are lots of places to see the beautiful bluebell carpets in Wales, pop into www.visitwales.com/things-do/nature-and-landscapes/bluebell-trails-across-wales to plan a trip. They’ll soon be in all their glory.
Sharpen Up
The chances are that when you tackle your chores over Easter, you’ll find that something in the shed needs sharpening. Sharpening tools is a real art – there’s a knack to it and if you haven’t got that knack, you’ll end up ‘knack .. ‘ er, making your blades worse.
Holly & Son’s Sharpening Services are based in The Little Workshop, Coed y Fynnon in Pontypool and can also be found regularly at various markets, including Abergavenny, Caerphilly, Bristol, Cwmbran, Merthyr Tydfil and Cowbridge. They offer a fabulous, old fashioned service and will sharpen just about anything, from gardening and woodworking tools to hairdressing scissors.
You can call them on 07597 300779 (you all know how much I like being able to talk directly to someone for business) or if you prefer, you can find and contact them on Instagram and Facebook – and see the razor-sharp reviews (see what I did there).
Green and Pheasant Land
I have been busy sowing seeds in the greenhouse, and am looking forward to having a couple of days off over Easter to catch up in my own garden. My enthusiasm is a little curtailed by the amount of birds nesting around the cottage. It’s such a treat to watch them all setting up home – from the nimble little sparrows and blue tits to the cumbersome and clumsy pigeons who sound like a T-rex crashing through the viburnum hedge to their nest. I can’t help but laugh, as they look so nonchalant when they emerge from the evergreen screen, as they try to keep their nest site confidential – they are about as subtle as a three year old trying to keep their sweets a secret.
I’ve also got a pheasant hen nesting on the ground in one of the planned veg beds, so will have to wait for her to raise and evict her young, before I can reclaim that part of the garden. But that gives me plenty of time to bring things on before planting out. One hen pheasant has even been laying her eggs in the same ‘feral’ nest my own hens use. I’m not sure if she will eventually start sitting on those and try hatching the hen’s eggs. It’ll be interesting to monitor but I fear there is disappointment ahead for one hen pheasant.
Long Tails
Annoyingly, there seem to be a couple of r.a.t.s. around too, so I am relying on a neighbour’s cat to sort them out before they find the pheasant eggs. Apparently, the hot summer of last year meant that the rat breeding season was extended and even worse than that, the heavy rains that we have had can flood their burrows, meaning they seek often higher and drier places to set up home – like sheds and garages. ‘Shudder’.
Frustratingly, rats like the kind of habitat that hedgehogs and other wildlife like too, so allowing areas like this to develop will increase the likelihood of attracting the ’long tails’ too. Rats are ‘neo-phobic’, which means they have a fear of new things. They don’t like disruption to their territory, so place obstacles in their runs (if visible) can deter them, as can strong smelling plants like mint and marigolds. Planting mint willy-nilly will give you a different problem (possibly better than rats) but I have just sown a couple of packets of marigolds as back up for the neighbour’s cat.
Foxes are one of the most effective predators of rats, but I am already trying to dissuade them for the sake of my two tame hens – and now a nesting pheasant. Honestly, trying to ‘manage’ nature is the biggest juggling game of all. I don’t always understand it by any means but I like to think that nature can be cruel as a reminder that we don’t have to be.
Lotsa Pots
Abergavenny Garden Centre are proud to be promoting their brand new ‘branded’ flower pots over Easter, as they can be returned to the garden centre for them to reuse. It’s a great idea, as old plastic flowerpots have always been the bane of my life, especially when planting en mass for clients. Obviously I recycle as many as possible for bringing on my own plants but there’s a limit. It’s probably worth checking garden centres in your area to see if they offer the same branded recycling service.
In 2024 B&Q promised to set up recycling bins for plastic flower pots at 100 of their stores – but they seem to have kept the locations a closely guarded secret as I can’t find out where (other than one in Gloucester). But if you are visiting your local store over Easter, for your DIY cache, then it might be worth asking there.
You could also offer your old plastic flower pots to various horticultural charities and allotments, as someone’s trash is always another person’s treasure.
My Brother
I just want to mention that the 10th April (next Friday) is National Siblings Day, described as, ‘a day to honour the complex, meaningful, and often under-celebrated relationship between siblings.’
Obviously I have the best brother in the world (according to aforementioned brother). When I recently told him that a survey showed that having an older sister enhances a brother’s life he immediately retorted, ‘Fake news’, and he always insists that an older sister is like the first pancake you make – ‘never turns out quite right’.
Despite all that, it’s a perfect time to thank him for all he does – especially contributing content for my column.
So, have an ‘eggsellent’ Easter weekend, try to spend some of it out in nature, or the garden, take care when tackling the DIY jobs and remember to keep the chocolate and hot cross buns out of the reach of dogs.
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