Hi everyone,
Another month, and it’s been a good one, I love the feeling of spring in the air. My spring bulbs are taking a jolly long time to get blooming though, I guess that’s because I’m looking at them every day!
I really think that spring is my favourite time of year, it just has so much promise. Plus, some of my favourite flowers bloom in the spring as well. I’ve been lucky enough to visit a Hellebore breeding program over the last few weeks, and seen some new varieties coming up. Hellebores are amazing plants for shady corners, and if you’ve never seen the Anemone flowered ones, you’re really missing out!
I walked past this amazing yellow Acacia tree recently, you may know it as Mimosa. I was itching to pick a branch, but I behaved myself. We passed a florist’s later, and I asked if they had any for sale, but they only had some that was dying. However, they gave it to me free, and now I have it in a dried flower vase at home. LOL
Primroses have been a big feature of the last few weeks, I’ve planted quite a few in the garden, and also been sent some from a Belgium breeding company that I’m doing some work for. It’s really opened my eyes to the botanical type of Primroses, which can actually bloom for three months of the year.
I found a great tip too, they said to plant them beneath perennials, and they get the summer shade that they need, and give colour for the rest of the year.
Aside from QVC shows, I’ve been filming a couple more bits for Steph‘s packed lunch on Channel 4. We filmed an awesome house plant video last week, but not with the normal bog-standard houseplants, wait till you see it, it’s amazing. It’s out after the 12th of April.
My houseplants are starting to grow quicker now, but I’m still managing to stay on top of the watering. I just have a reminder in my diary once a week, and I then walk around and see what needs a drink.
Outside, aside from those some slow spring bulbs, everything is looking pretty good.
I’ve also sent some seeds in a propagator indoors; I can’t remember the last time I sowed seeds. It really takes me back to my childhood even! I’ve been sewing some Cosmos, some Zinnias, and way too many Sweet peas!
I’ve also been potting on my plug plants, making sure I do it as soon as they arrive. So far so good, there’s a few yellow leaves, but that’s perfectly normal. How are yours looking?
Even with all the changes to our lives recently, there’s been a lot of great benefits. One of those has been the rise in virtual events. I’ve been giving lots of seminars to a range of different garden clubs, all around the world even. It’s been really fun, and something that we actually couldn’t have done during ‘normal’ times.
But it hasn’t all been about plants you know; my second love is cooking. And when I decide to make a recipe, I get quite obsessed with it. Recently I fancied making fideua, and even bought the special noodles to do it. It’s a kind of paella with spaghetti…! And it’s delicious!
So, what’s coming up for April at QVC? Our Easter weekend it’s going to be a very busy one, we have some excellent offers on plants and garden tools. Look out for some special commemorative plants, some instant summer patio plants, and some very cool lights.
We will also be incorporating tonnes of demonstrations because I know you like those. We will also keep answering your customer questions on air, and of course showing your photos!
Until next month, happy gardening.
Michael
