Happy Christmas
As I write this I can reveal that a hori hori knife was on my Christmas list but you may have to wait till next week to find out if I am now the proud owner of this item.
My husband did look at me in a very puzzled way and asked me to spell it. My daughter’s response on whatsapp was “be right back, off to google what that is…” followed by: “well I’d like a machete”.
One of the real joys of this past year has been volunteering in a garden. I know some of you are studying for RHS Level 2 qualifications and one of things I loved about that course was the chance to learn again. (Though yes, the plant ident tests are a bit of a challenge and I confess I was sometimes scribbling Latin plant names rather than notes in some of my less exciting work meetings.)
Volunteering in the Inner Temple Garden in London has enabled me to continue that learning with a team of the most generous gardeners who always take the time to explain what we are doing and why we are doing it. Being in a large garden, you are able to observe gardening on a different scale – there were thousands of bulbs on the order and therefore thousands to plant. Dahlia’s are lifted and stored in crates so that in Spring they will be watered and begin to grow and shoot in those crates. And yes it is where I got Hori Hori knife envy.
I also love the truly international team. As we sit with a cup of tea discussing our Christmas traditions, there’s a German, an American, an Italian and a French gardener alongside a couple of Brits. We talk about food and family. One of the other interesting topics we have discussed is the increasing interest in community gardens and communal spaces for growing food and where do the young people joining this horticultural world want to work. My fellow volunteer has a lovely blog called Meadowlark Journal and she recently wrote about the opportunities to join community gardens and though this post is specific to London it might be food for thought, because I am sure that there are community gardens in so many places around the world. I am sure we’ll return to this subject in 2023.
Thank you so much for signing up and supporting me in this podcasting venture. I am looking forward to next year, when this small seed of an idea becomes a grown up podcast. It is so lovely to be making this journey with friends.
Enjoy the holidays.