Although the title of this post contain the words 'A Plan', this is more of a brain dump, general thoughts and musings about garden related stuff... a pre-plan let's say. I'm determined to be more prepared this year. I often plant things later than I could because it takes the temperature to rise for me to even think about planting seeds.

I asked for, and received, two propagators for my birthday last year and they've been sitting in my greenhouse patiently waiting to be filled.

Sophie alerted me to the fact that coral coloured sun flowers exist and I've been itching to plant seeds ever since. I grew sunflowers for the first time last year and enjoyed them so much I'm going to grow a lot more this year.

I'm also planning on growing more peas, not one single pea made it to the kitchen last year. They were all eaten, sun-warmed, directly from the plant. Delicious!

Cabbages will be planted again and this year but I'll be covering them up to protect them from being eaten by caterpillars. Cucumbers always grow well and I won't plant so many tomato plants this year as Andy is the only one who likes them. I always end up with many more than I can use or give away. 

If I'm really organised I'll get into a routine of planting spinach and lettuce leaves at regular intervals.

I have Bunny Tails grass Ammi, Honesty and Amaranthus seeds left over so they'll be planted again. The Bunny Tails I'll dry and pop into small vases around the house. I want to find other flower varieties that are good for drying too.

I need some more shrubs around the patio, and some for containers. I think box shrubs for the containers (which will stand either side of our patio steps), and I'd like some grasses to sway in the wind, and a few small trees for the hedgerow, but I'll need to investigate which varieties will stand the rigors of our open garden and not grow too big - any suggestions would be gratefully received :)

I was given a Magnolia plant for Christmas and wonder if it can be grown in a pot as rabbits, hare and deer eat almost everything planted in our front garden (they don't seem to venture into the back garden but the front is constantly being nibbled, we provide quite the buffet for local wildlife).

Strawberries! I want strawberries for the summer. And if I can get a fruit cage organised I'd love some raspberries and gooseberries too. This might be a step too far for this year, but we'll see.

I have some holes in the Beech hedge that need filling, which I think will need to be planted in early spring. And I want a lot more snowdrops for next year, and some more crocuses, I need to find out when to plant these, it's a piece of information that always escapes me. My forget-me-nots don't seem to do very well, they often get mildew, so I need to investigate. And after trying, and failing, to grow Erigeron from seed last year I might see if I can buy some plants instead and dot them around the garden.

I was given some solar lights for my birthday last year which need to be given outside homes, some will festoon (what a great word) our new pergola, others will hang in the trees.

I think that's enough to keep me occupied. I'm off to write a list and figure out what I need to do and when. I have a feeling that, with March almost upon us, some of these things can be done imminently so I better get a wriggle on!

The thought of spring arriving, and all these garden plans have put a smile on my face, I'm excited to get started!

xx