In winter's embrace (AGGIL 22)

​The natural world. Forever amazing and inspirational. 

For us, at this time of year, a trough of our strawberry plants is hardly a thing of beauty, though like all real beauty the truth is never just skin deep. At the moment the silent joy is in a few green leaves, protected by their waxy cuticle layer.  The plants are keeping themselves tucked up under a blanket of last season's dead leaves; the ones that worked hard photosynthesising to ensure the plant grew, fruited and gave berries of paradise.  They do need tidying up; but not at this moment.

At this moment this crispy brown veil is a blanket, a home and a refuge for tiny insects hibernating and microbial life; life that we don't fully understand and that we can't even see with the naked eye. It is often when our world's in winter's embrace that we take stock and think of what's to come. With some tender care, judicious pruning, and a little liquid fertiliser from reconstituted organic chicken manure pellets, these now quiet strawberry plants will soon start shouting and give us an abundance of fat red berries... only about five months to wait!  Of course, the flowers will come first, then bees, butterlies and insects will pay a visit... or two... or three.  They'll leave some magic dust, and then fruit will start growing... and swelling... and ripening. 

I look forward to the days of strawberries, and now know our summer is not too distant... bringing the bliss of heated rays of sunshine... and seemingly endless watering!

But first... now... at this very moment.. we are in winter's embrace.  

A Guernsey Gardener in London, Day 22