A THAW AT LAST!

Hello, at last the weather has relented - and we can see green grass again! It seems a long time since we last saw our green and pleasant land - over the last three weeks it has seemed pretty white!

Of course, the thaw has led to flooding - but you win some, you lose some! All the staff here at the nursery are mightly glad to see the back of the white stuff I can tell you. Most of us have been in this industry for many years - and we would all say that the last fortnight has provided some of the most difficult conditions we have ever experienced!!

Of course it has also been fun - but sometimes the novelty can wear off!! We were totally unable to lift any hedging or bare-root orders - the ground was frozen down to a good foot's depth - and the drive down to the nursery was great fun - it sits on a considerable slope -and a deep mix of snow and ice meant several of the staff - yours truly included - had to be towed up the drive in their cars behind a tractor to get home!! A novel way of seeing the nursery if nothing else!!

The few brave souls who ventured down to try and buy something, also had this experience - but one jolly young lady said it was the most fun she had enjoyed since Christmas!!

But I am pleased to report we are just about back to normal now.

The first hedging orders of the New Year have been dug and collected - and we restart our Mail-Order Dispatch season tomorrow. So, all in all - it is great to be able to resume some of the nursery tasks that have been on hold since mid-December.

January is often viewed as a pretty dull time by many gardeners - but it is the beginning of a New Year -and if you look really closely - there are some signs of the seasons to come.

In my own garden - around the base of a purple-leaved Hazel - the snow melted on Sunday to reveal a super little circle of snowdrops - just bursting into flower. They really are amazing little things having survived the weight of snow on them - but in many ways that has probably acted as an insulation blanket - protecting them from the severe frosts we have had.

So you see, there ARE reasons to be cheerful - no matter how harsh the weather nature will overcome it!! THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE!!

UNTIL NEXT TIME,
RICHARD