Another sunny day (with a bitterly cold wind). The skylarks were singing their hearts out above the cliff-top field this morning; a song that always cheers my soul. I do my best thinking and planning while walking the dog. The challenge is to remember everything and write it down when I get home before it disappears in the rush of the day.

Today I was thinking of all the pressing garden jobs to do before the growing season really takes off. I suspect I’ll be running to catch up this year. I must clean out the greenhouse – it currently houses two bikes, one barbeque, sundry grubby pots and several over-wintering pelargoniums. And I think there’s a frog in there. There’s also a huge pile of grubby pots and seed trays that has been sitting outside all winter in need of a good scrub.

A friend donated some tomato and cucumber plants last spring and they were hugely prolific in the greenhouse; the cucumbers were particularly delicious. This year we’re aiming to grow our own from seed. We’re also planning to grow strawberries and raspberries (because we love them), some salad crops, beetroot, and whatever else takes our fancy. We also want to grow asparagus so need to sort out a bed for that and plant crowns this month (it’ll be three years before we can harvest any but I reckon it’ll be worth the wait).

We recently pruned the apple trees for the first time since we moved in so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they will cope with the shock. I also cut back the gooseberry bushes in November in an attempt to rejuvenate them. Fingers crossed.

Right, time to get my marigolds on and clean those pots.