Days and weeks and horticultural matters!

I've been seeing stuff about today being Mother's Day. That struck me as ofd because the pub/restaurant next door has not put up any big notices offering special deals on meals if you bring your mum, which is the kind of thing they usually do it's a special "day". So I looked it up. I was right about one thing: today is not Mother's Day in this country. In the United States it is; they celebrate it on the second Sunday in May. In most Arab countries it is always celebrated on the 21st of March. Does it bother them that this is the Spring equinox.

But here in the UK it's the fourth Sunday in Lent. We never used to call it "Mother's Day" but "Mothering Sunday" and when I was a little kid going to Sunday School they gave every child a card to take home to their mother. Well, at least they did so at the Sunday School I went to. So my mother always got two or three of the same card. I suppose this could also happen nowadays with the commercially produced cards. And I suppose that someone was making money out of the cards (postcard style) handed out by the Sunday School. However, it probably bears no comparison with the money made in this age of commercialisation. And back then nobody had yet thought to invent Father's Day!

Also coming up soon is "Be Nice to Nettles" week. Not just a day but a whole week! 19th to30th May. When did that come about? There are even a number of websites about it. Here is an example.

Someone from the BBC has been trying to persuade us that nettles are quite wonderful. Here are some of the good points:


1. Butterflies can't get enough of it. Nettles are butterfly food for at least two common British species - the Red Admiral and Painted Lady. Without these ruthlessly efficient plant pollinators all sorts of crops would suffer and that in turn could affect the human food chain. It's not just the disappearance of the bees we need to worry about.
2. They're medicinal. Nutritional therapist Jenny Logan claims that nettles can be used to ease the symptoms of gout, among other ailments. "They help to clear excess uric acid out of the joint - and it is the uric acid which causes the pain and inflammation associated with gout."
3. They are survivors. The sting on the underside of the nettle leaf is designed to protect it. Tiny hairs laced with formic acid sink into the skin leaving raised bumps.
4. They tend to come with their own first aid kit.Dock leaves are commonly believed to soothe the symptoms of a nettle sting, and they often grow close by. But their proximity is pure coincidence says Phil Griffiths, conservatories manager at Kew Gardens. "They're just both very quick to adapt to neglected areas."
5. Nettles are chic. The fibre inside the plants can be spun into string and used to make fabric for clothing, cushion covers, and even paper. "A mature nettle is incredibly fibrous, like flaxen," says Guy Barter from the Royal Horticultural Society. De Montfort University scientists made a dress from nettles.
6. The German army used nettle fabric to make army uniforms during World War I.
7. It's low-maintenance. Nettles love wasteland. They will flourish wherever the soil is rich in phosphate and are common throughout Northern Europe. They can grow to be 4ft tall.
8. The plants are packed with magnesium, iron and calcium - all essential minerals for healthy humans, says trainee nutritional therapist Lucy Tones.
9. They're tasty too, although nettle nutrition is a dish best served hot. The sting disappears when the leaves are boiled which is probably why they are most commonly consumed in the form of tea. If that's not your cuppa, nettle soup is also "earthy, slightly tangy, outrageously healthy," according to Good Food magazine blogger Toby Travis. The basic ingredients are nettles, onions, potato, stock and seasoning.
10. And finally, they can raise your spirits... literally. Nettle wine is a traditional country wine that's enjoying a bit of a resurgence. It is a very dry, crisp wine that "retains a bit of a prickle" according to Lyme Bay Winery manager James Lambert. The winery recently made 3,000 litres of its unusual tipple using 40kg of nettles.

As I go for long walks around here I notice the nettles growing. I can't say that I am especially nice to them but I don't set about uprooting them as I do the Japanese or Indonesian balsam plants. No I have too much respect for nettles to do such a thing. I treat them with respect. I just wish they returned the compliment! I remember as a child setting out with my sister to pick bluebells (this was before they became a protected species before it was against the law to pick them) and the pair of us returning hime with our arms full of flowers and our legs full of nettle stings. So much for being nice to nettles!.

As today's post seems to be turning into a mini version of Gardener's Question Time or some such thing, here are some more observations:

* The newspapers tell me that this has been the driest winter for 20 years. Really? Not around here, it hasn't. Yes, we have had some dry weeks recently but winter as a whole has been pretty wet. The mud puddles on the bridle paths bear witness to that.

* There are reports of an avocado shortage. Goodness! It's not two minutes since we had a courgette shortage. What next? There are two reasons for this latest shortage: poor harvests and the fact that the Chinese are now eating more avocados. There you go.

Coincidentally, I recently came across an item about stupid injuries people have managed to inflict upon themselves. A large number of these came from trying to cut up or remove the stone from an avocado. A fruit (or veg) that gets its own back.

That's all for today!