Forget toilet rolls and hand sanitiser. I can’t find bread flour anywhere. And as for gardening seeds – they are like gold dust.
Everyone now seems to be baking bread, experimenting with arts and crafts, painting and gardening. I’ve visited a number of online nurseries and even the B&Q website. All my favourite plants have sold out. And it’s only May 1st! I wasn’t even able to buy seeds in the early days of lockdown.
I had a rummage in the garage and found a few old seed packets. Best planted by 2014. I doubt if they will work but I’m going to give them a go and will let you know if I have any luck.
If you’re having the same experience, I can recommend seed sharing – something keen amateur gardeners have been doing for years.
A couple of years ago I shared seeds with a friend and I was so delighted with the outcome that I wrote this poem about it.
I’m sure you must know the poem by William Wordsworth which begins – “I wandered lonely as a cloud … ”
Here is my version – a lighthearted take on the original.
To Hollyhocks
I wandered barefoot in the sun
Having taken off my socks
And all at once I came upon
A clump of golden Hollyhocks
I pocketed some tiny seeds
They flew with me on EasyJet
I scattered them among my weeds
And with myself I had a bet
Could I get these seeds to grow
Among my dandelion clocks
And if they did how would I know
That these were truly Hollyhocks
A few months on a fabulous sight
Hollyhocks of every hue
It looks like I did something right
And then I gave some seeds to you
And then as quickly as they came
My flowers disappeared from sight
I looked for them but all in vain
They had just vanished overnight
I think my gardener was to blame
Mistook them for some flowering weeds
My garden didn’t look the same
And I hadn’t even kept the seeds
Then you and I met up for lunch
And I told you this tale of woe
Ah you said I have a hunch
That I still have some seeds you know
You kindly posted seeds to me
Just like the ones I once gave you
When you were here with friends for tea
Such a thoughtful thing to do
What goes around comes around they say
It looks like we will prove this true
And who knows maybe come next May
I’ll have more seeds to give to you
I’ve been blogging every day for the past week and am going to take a break this weekend. Am not going anywhere special – just thought I would visit the sofa in my living room.
See you Monday. Have a good weekend. Stay safe and keep well. Happy gardening!
© Andrea Neidle, My Life in Poems
My Life in Poems 