(Wednesday, 15 April 2020)
Although the brief ‘mini winter’ we experienced seems to have passed and the temperatures are again rising, it is still quite cold at night with the temperature hovering around the 0 to 1 degree mark. Still too cold to think about planting up my little seedlings and so they continue to reside in the greenhouse. I might have to do a little shuffling as their continued growth means they are competing for space a bit now.
**(Slightly more urgent calls out to any of you locals who can relieve me of some tomato plants!!)** 😉
The subject of when to run the risk of planting outside came up yesterday and it’s always been a subject for much debate amongst gardeners. In the UK, it was always after ‘Blackthorn Winter’ – a term that has me thinking fondly of my lovely Grandmother, whenever it is used.
My grandparents on my Mum’s side were dairy farmers (I think I may have inherited the love of the countryside genes from them) and I have so many wonderful childhood memories related to their farm… riding around on tractors and trailers, helping my Grandad with the hay baling, visiting the new born calves, riding my sweet little pony and generally playing around in the barns for hours on end and most likely, getting up to no good! 😉 😇
I have a million and one stories of the stuff we used to get up to back in those days…. yonks before anyone had even heard of health and safety 😉 One of my earliest memories is being dangled over the milk cooler to scoop up a pail of the day’s milk production before it was collected by the daily tanker. Full fat and unpasteurised, we were brought up on it and I still love the taste of it now. Another of the things with inferior taste that supermarket mass production and processing has spoiled. 😔
But I digress… around here there is no Blackthorn Winter. Largely, there are no blackthorns either or rather, there are a couple apparently but their location is a closely guarded secret as there aren’t enough sloes for everyone’s gin 😉 😂 And I have yet to find my own secret stash, but I’ve not given up hope just yet! 🤞
In Austria, it is known as Ice Saints after the Saints whose feast days fall at that time. Depending on which article you read, it essentially falls between 11th – 15th May and signifies the last frosts of the season.
I have known planting to happen before this time but it is exceptional and generally, everyone’s balcony planters and window boxes go up from the 16th. Whilst it doesn’t have the variations in date of Blackthorn Winter, you do know exactly when it is considered safe to start planting out and heaving window boxes into place. I love this time of year, seeing the bright colours adorning every house and appearing virtually overnight, is quite something! 😍
Mark decided that it was the perfect day to pressure wash the paths and terrace. I do love a bit of pressure washing, there’s something very satisfying about stripping off all the grime inch by inch and revealing the shiny clean slabs underneath. It always surprises me just how much difference it makes. 👍
With all this water and dirt relocation going on outside, it was admin time for me. One of our favourite guests is a lovely Austrian young lady who is bubbly, fun and loves all things English. She first visited us in our first year here and has pretty much come back every year/opportunity she gets.
Today, I had a phone call from a friend of this young lady who wants to buy her a voucher for a night’s stay, as a surprise for her birthday. She told me that Landhaus Fay is all she talks about, the only place she ever wants to go and so the friend will come with her and is looking forward to visiting ‘the famous Landhaus Fay’. It really made my day – isn’t that lovely? It also marked the first booking we have had since before the beginning of March and all this C**** stuff started kicking off. Isn’t it funny how just a simple phone call can really lift your spirits like that?
Have to admit to feeling very tired this afternoon. A few nights of sleeping with the night wriggler and space invader that is Aten had taken its toll. Mark very kindly agreed to a bed swap tonight, so now I have the luxury of a potentially uninterrupted nights sleep….. and space…. glorious space! 😁😁😁😴
