We jumped straight into 2010 with lots of indoor jobs as the ice on the terrace was lethal and the greenhouses were inaccessible but birdfeeders got made and lots of tidying up was done.  Pamela has got a new board which has a timetable for sowing all our seeds which will be a big help for us to keep track of everything - very grown up! 

When the ice finally relented the greenhouses on the terrace got cleaned out and disinfected to the point where you could eat your lunch off the floor.  The first tomatoes, onions, leeks and Victoria Cross poppies have been sown and summer flowering bulbs have been planted so the gardening year is well under way. 

SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) kindly invited me to lunch in Glasgow to celebrate the award they won for Life Force, their guide to working with veterans (www.samh.org - go the Archive News: SAMH guide wins top military award 30 October 2009) and I was delighted to have been part of such a great initiative. 

One of Gardening Leave’s Friends, Mike Cullen, organised an evening of films about farming in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s  before Christmas and the DVD of the evening has raised £907 so far - a Huge thank-you to Mike and all the people who made it happen.

 Another Friend of Gardening Leave, Miracle Gro, (www.lovethegarden.com) sent an e-Christmas card to all their customers and made a generous donation to Gardening Leave as part of what they had saved by sending it electronically so thank you to Miracle Gro too!

 It’s been great to get back into the swing of Gardening Leave after Christmas and New Year and to welcome so many veterans to Gardening Leave - the fishing season is just around the corner and the Stovehouse cover should be on by the end of February so there is lots to look forward to - happy days,

ABC.