Next week sees National Gardening Week being celebrated. It is the country’s biggest annual celebration of gardening and is taking place from Monday, April 26, to Sunday, May 2. This year, the RHS will be encouraging you to “get your dose of Vitamin G”.

So, what’s happening? The RHS web site explains: “Over the last year, we’ve all come to rely on our gardens and green spaces more than ever. Many of us have rediscovered the importance of connecting with nature for our mental and physical wellbeing. For National Gardening Week in 2021, we’re celebrating the feelgood power of plants and gardens, highlighting the scientific links between gardening and wellbeing and sharing easy tips to get your daily dose of Vitamin G”. Check out the details at www.rhs.org.uk.

Despite the recent cold spells, all my fruit trees have produced lots of blossom, which indicates a good crop of fruit later in the year. I’ve got an old apple and pear tree that were both in situ when we moved here, back in 2004. They both generally produce good crops every autumn. Over the last ten years, I’ve planted a Cox’s Orange Pippin and a Victoria Plum tree which have not produced a great deal of fruit each season as yet. All four trees are showing positive signs so far and look very pretty indeed.

This week has been all about tidying and trimming shrubs and hedges ahead of planting my summer annuals over the course of the next few weeks. I generally start on May 1 but unless the weather warms up soon will delay it a week or so this year. This past week has seen some lovely weather here in Seaford, with bright blue skies, quite pleasant in the sun but still very chilly in the shade. The garden is so dry too and much time has been spent watering containers and flower beds to ensure my displays of spring bulbs are maintained.

This week I was given a large tray of sweet peas by a fellow garden opener in the town. Now is a good time to sow them at the base of supports and to transplant those sown in the autumn into their final positions in your garden. The 20 or so donated are now carefully planted into my garden, beneath rusty metal supports or where they can grow up against a fence or hedge. Needless to say, they have all had a good feed too, so I am very much looking forward to seeing them flourish over the coming months. They are such wonderful flowers to cut and bring into the house as well.

Read more of Geoff’s garden at www.driftwoodbysea.co.uk