Finally there: actual undeniable spring. The sweet spot between the equinox and Easter. So the garden gods agree you should be pretty safe in the next few weeks to start sowing seed outside. With, of course, an eye, as always, on your most trusted long-range local forecast.
Perhaps just time, then, for a column in praise of patience. A call to sometimes stand and stare, to soak it in. To take time out in the sun or rain. To slow down. Stop and admire the blossom. There will be plenty of opportunities to do the garden things you need to do.
We only recently rediscovered the lost joy of long walks in the rain over Hampstead Heath. Stopping to admire the Kenwood magnolia tree, to maybe take a mug of tea, a detour for the ponds. Sometimes, I am so anxiously listening for the siren call of seed that I miss the quiet call of a stroll.
There are, of course, crazy amounts of seed in the house, bulging bags, tins packed with packets. It is as though, sometimes, I am hoarding summertime.
Meanwhile, the new covered seed trainers are primed, the plot is pretty pristine, thrumming under an overwintered layer of manure. The cold-weather work has been done. We are ready for spring. So perhaps time to take a breath. To see the Rothko paintings, make a day trip to the coast. Sometimes, even gardening can wait a little.
Over the next brighter, lighter mornings and evenings, I will be sowing, hoeing, anxiously scouting for seedlings, spotting spring green emerging out of winter browns.
That said, we will be away next weekend for Easter, returning home with Henri. The plot – and this column – will wait until we get back. Happy early spring days everyone.
Allan Jenkins’s Plot 29 (4th Estate, £9.99) is out now. Order it for £8.49 from guardianbookshop.com
