40 Shades of Green

I love this time of year - the garden looks so fresh and green. New shoots are coming up everywhere and on a day like today there is no better place to be than the garden - the sun is warm but not intense, the insect life - though vital - is not yet making its presence felt (yes, butterflies - okay, but who needs those pesky wasps and ants?) and the seeds you planted way back when are beginning to appear. Planning what to have in the garden is fun but not as much fun as seeing it all start to flourish. My garden is tiny but this year I was determined to plant more things to eat, so I've put in a gooseberry bush - much to the consternation of number one son ('mmm....very tart, gooseberries'), and also a blackcurrant bush - both of these remind me of my childhood - one summer when I was about 14 I went  blackcurrant picking and it took me all week to earn enough to buy myself some shoes! The gooseberry - well, that reminds me of my granddad's vegetable garden. He worked on a farm and had all manner of things in the enormous vegetable patch behind the house. I've also invested in some tomato plants, some onions, carrots, peas, lettuce, chillies, peppers and all manner of herbs.  Today I had lunch outside and sat for half an hour or so and admired my handiwork. This year is going to be a good year.