Haven’t the last couple of months been dreary? Grey skies, cold temperatures and a constant drizzle which won’t drain away from the clay soil of the Vale.
I haven’t even wanted to get out into the garden, which normally cheers me up. The ground is soggy, my pots are full of nothing but sad looking sticks, and there’s one particular flower bed that all the neighbourhood cats seem to have adopted as a litter tray. It isn’t exactly alluring.
I have however been using my time indoors by researching friendly ways to stop my garden being a feline facility. This is my list so far:
1. Scatter citrus peel on the garden as they dislike the smell. Great idea, but there’s only so many oranges I can eat.
2. Get an ultrasonic noise repellent. Another excellent idea, until I visited my mother-in-law who has one in her garden and realised, I could actually hear it myself. She does have a cat-free garden, but it’s also now Sherry-free too.
3. My favourite option… Planting certain smelly plants such as lavender and rosemary, which are disliked by felines. There’s even one particular plant called the Coleus Canina that smells strongly of urine and ensures creatures stay away.
So, I have options, and I’m determined to reclaim my flower beds from the feline fellowship, but just like every other gardener, I am holding out until Spring to take any action.
But guess what? It’s coming! In fact, the first day of Spring is on 20th March and with Spring comes happiness. Literally.
The first day of Spring coincides with the International Day of Happiness. And how could it not be, with longer daylight hours, bulbs springing into life, trees once again getting dressed in their finery, and birds singing their approval.
It will be great to spend time outdoors, doing some physical exercise by getting my hands dirty in fresh soil, all with the purpose of adding life and colour to the garden. It soothes the soul.
This means it will be time for me to visit the garden centre again too, which also brings me happiness. I will be buying a lot of smelly plants alongside my usual multitude of bedding plants this time.
And I’m pretty sure that even my husband will find happiness in this once the weather warms up and he can sit outside with a cool glass of beer surrounded by the scents and colours of Spring. Maybe I won’t buy the Coleus Canina.
Sherry x
