Looking at my notes from last year the weather at this time was hot, very hot for the time of year. My tomatoes were romping away and other seedlings demanding attention as they grew at an amazing rate. Then guess what happened? The weather turned colder, a lot colder. The tomatoes continued to look very healthy but took ages to set fruit. Bedding plants that had raced away could not be planted out into the border as it was too cold and some had to have the growing tips nipped out to hold them back and help them to bush.

Fast forward to this year. It is cold. This last week has been very cold, the easterly wind has been as cold as any we have had in winter. The difference in the greenhouse is that the tomatoes are significantly smaller but again look healthy. I have to add that I did sow the seeds a bit later this year for two reasons, firstly to reduce the amount of heat used in the greenhouse and secondly because they charged away last year. The bedding plants are also slower to get away but nothing to worry about. I suspect everything will catch up to a certain degree but probably the tomatoes will fruit a little late. Very well worth waiting for though!

To give an indication of the fluctuation in temperature, as the weather had warmed and the days lengthened one of my trees had unfurled its beautiful copper coloured young leaves, this last week those young leaves have been burned by the wind and are now crispy.

I pricked out my alyssum seedlings this weekend. Each year I sow a few and enjoy their scent. They did seem to go out of fashion for a while along with formal bedding schemes but now seem to be back. They never went out of fashion with me, I like them and I feel a bit nostalgic about alyssum. My granddad grew alyssum and lobelia from seed every year and it was watching him sow and prick these out that taught me how to grow from seed and I suspect started my love of gardening. His scheme was the same each year in his front garden, white alyssum, blue lobelia and red pelargoniums (or geraniums as he called them). Enough were grown to pass enough on to my parents for their garden. The pelargoniums were grown each year from cuttings and I managed to keep them going for many years after his death until one year I had a disaster and lost the lot. I cannot replace them as the name of the variety has been lost in the mists of time.

In flower this week are my Crown Imperialsand Spiraea to add to the growing colour in the Spring garden.