It is so early in the year and yet even though we are still in February the trees are pretty, powder puffs of pollen which is sent dancing in the wind to tickle our noses and bring on the sneezes. So if you haven’t already felt the tickle of tree pollen provocatively teasing the hairs and membranes of your nose, then you may very shortly do so. More and more adults are becoming susceptible to the twitching of noses and the watery eyes of this unpleasant malady.
Catkins shedding powdery pollen
I have noticed over recent years that bed linen appears to be shrinking … because no matter how many times I measure beds their size remains constant.
I often wonder whether it has something to do with European measuring. For instance windows are now all purchased/measured/installed/replaced in metric whereas curtains, whose sizes appear to have remained constant since the 1930’s or thereabouts, not only remain in inches but also in the sizes of yesteryear. Although windows have changed in width and depth over the years, curtains can only be purchased in their original drops of 36 inches/48 inches/54 inches/72 inches/90 inches …
Not through an earthquake, landslide, tsunami or solar flare but the aftershock of the garden after the snow and ice have receded. I am still not absolutely sure of the amount of plants that have been lost due to the double minus figures of hot knife to butter-cutting frosts that permeated the depths of the top soil. I probably will have to wait until Spring is well under way before reaching for the garden fork to pull up the dead stock.
The one plant that has surprised me is one that doesn’t originate from this part of the world. It is already thick and green and calling for the year to unfold before it. It is my bamboo. What a lovely surprise it brings to the garden with its bright green leaves shaped like spears and pointing in all directions with increasing enthusiasm.
I remember years ago after being enthralled with tales from Toby Twirl and the excitement of China, reading about the uses of bamboo from the wrist-wide to the very narrowest of drinking-straw stems. At the time, I had no idea that there were so many different varieties. Then on a trip to Devon, near to some water it stood growing wild, thick and tall and I was drew to it.
Many years later I purchased a small pot of bamboo. Naively, I assumed that as the plant matured the stems would increase in width size but of course, they do not. My plant is now well established and produces the finest of bamboo canes. I am still left wondering about the shoots … and need to read up to find whether all bamboo is edible …
Bamboo
Timothy Tate turned the tollgate
Twenty-two times each Tuesday;
Titania Teeton tossed her tuppence
Tiptoed pecking timid Tim's countenance!
February has arrived. The first day of the month has been lovely. A blue sky and soft watery clouds drifting up above. Time to look around the garden to see if anything is stirring. We have had such a cold Winter so far that it wouldn’t surprise anyone if there were just dun soil everywhere. Nature, however, is always full of surprise and hope – if you look for it. No matter how bleak the day, nature will shock, surprise and present us with optimism.
February bulbs pushing their way from under the earth
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