A SURPRISE EVERY DAY

Now that spring is well under way everything in the garden is trying to put on a brave face. Although the bitterly cold easterly wind is putting a damper on outside activity, there are still lots to do in the greenhouse. The cold weather also necessitates regular visits to replenish the food on the bird table, and ripe apples for the blackbirds. The lonely goldfinch that had visited for weeks has at last found himself a mate and both were happily feeding on a bag of nuts this morning.

The seed in the zip bags has to be checked daily, and those starting to germinate transferred to pots of seed compost. The first seedlings are now three inches high and growing strongly. I think I that like the zip bag idea and will use it in future. A lot of seed that I used to have difficulty with has germinated in the bags with any difficulty; even Dionysias have taken to the bags with relish.

The seedling primulas are in full swing at the moment and each morning brings its own surprise as another one or two open their flowers. Most of these will not make the grade as far as new plants for the market place are concerned, but nevertheless I hate having to put them out in the frame. Everyone thinks that their geese are swans, but in this game one has to be ruthless otherwise the place would be full of mediocre plants, little or no different from something that is there already. Having said that there is always a few worth growing on to keep the interest alive. It is the element of surprise, and a little hope, although that usually turns to disappointment that keeps one going.

Once you have established a particular line of plants for breeding, it is surprising how quickly things can happen.

With Lewisias it is much more difficult to establish a line as a lot of the offspring are sterile, and this stops you in your tracks. The only way with Lewisias is to pollinate as many plants as you can manage and then root cuttings from the best offspring. Cross breeding the species always produces the most interesting plants, but always sterile. There is a way to deal with this problem, but it is much too complex for a gardening article like this.

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