By Isle of Wight Observer
Seasons Greetings to you all. As it’s my last article of the year I thought I’d round things off with a look back over the year. But before I do that, things wouldn’t be the same if I didn’t mention the recent weather.
It’s certainly been relatively mild over the last month, with just one or two light frosts and a couple of winter storms blowing through. So far we’ve escaped the deluge of rain that so many others across the UK have experienced. Let’s hope it stays that way.
As we all know, as gardeners, no two years are ever the same, and I, for one, hope that next year isn’t quite so challenging as this last one.
We started off the year with heavy rainfall and stormy weather, followed by a cold snap. We didn’t see much in the way of sunshine until mid-May, and temperatures didn’t really start to improve until well into June. This meant that everything in the garden was running later than usual – about two weeks later. Nothing ever really caught up all season.
Even the summer months were nothing to write home about, barely reaching above the low twenties Celsius.
Pleasant but nothing spectacular. What it did do, however, was to prolong the abundance of summer colour throughout our gardens. Our Island flower shows were filled with amazing flowers and vegetable with bumper entries. It’s so great to see so many people, both young and old, supporting the shows. What I find most exciting is that we are beginning to see some new exhibitors actually growing things specifically to show.
I will be doing a talk for the Yarmouth Society on January 21, where I will be talking on my, somewhat, incredible year.
Starting in October of 2023, it follows my progress month by month through the year, taking in such events including RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Hampton Court and the National Dahlia Show to name but a few.
Everyone is welcome to attend.
Please keep an eye out for more details in the coming weeks.
Merry Christmas to you all and I wish you Happy Gardening in the New Year!