The Sweet Pea Diaries
“The garden,” says writer Anne Lamott, “is one of the two great metaphors for humanity…[It] is about life and beauty and the impermanence of all living things…You pour yourself into it, care so much, and see up close so much birth, and growth, and beauty, and danger, and triumph.” I’d only ever been interested in monitoring (and eating) the strawberries but this year, with some seeds given by a friend for Imbolc, there is the motivation to attempt to grow something myself. It seemed like it might all be a bit high maintenance at first (all that potting, repotting, watering, planting out). But I remembered how nice sweet peas could look and smell and they’re not something you can get beside the meal deals in Tesco. It’s late March when I poke the seeds into compost in little tubs in the greenhouse, wondering how exactly they’ll come to life, how they can tell when they’re ready to go. There is a thrill when, a couple of weeks later, tiny green shoots emerge. I check the seedlings e...
