Wheatears are sensible

The wind has been a nagging constant, quite biting at times. It has felt distinctly wintery and not at all like spring. Quite sensibly Wheatears have decided they want no part of it and have stayed away. I am not sure where they are. Not here at any rate, even though this is prime time. There were quite a few Northern Wheatear in Morocco in January, I don't know if they winter there or were on the move from further south, but for all I know they may still be there enjoying warm and sunny weather. In Wanstead, where it is neither warm nor sunny, I was out again this morning searching diligently on behalf of whoever's sweepstake day this. Whoever they were they weren't out there searching with me. Even though this is disappointing it is also entirely logical when you consider that it was a) freezing and b) completely and utterly dead with a capital D. Dead. I'll try again tomorrow, as the week progresses it is supposed to be getting a bit warmer. Some years ago I found my first Wanstead Wheatear in a gap between snow flurries. That was back when Wheatears were tough and manly and just on with it. The new generation of Wheatears are clearly a bit sensitive. Whokears.

Talking of warmth, or the lack of it, on Saturday we went to Kew Gardens to meet up with some friends. As west London was as glacial as east London we spent most of the time inside the various greenhouses - the Palm House, the zoned Princess of Wales Conservatory, and the magnificent Temperate House. These sensational plant collections make my attempts at growing tropical plants and succulents here in Wanstead look amateurishly pathetic but wandering around them they reminded me how much I liked plants, how much I somehow know about various plant families, and more importantly what my plans for the 2025 growing season were. I actually made a to-do list as I was walking around. I needed to clean this or that plant, my Aloe suprafoliata could do with repotting, such and such plant needs trimming.... Needless to say once back home the following day and brimming with enthusiasm I disappeared into the greenhouse and was not seen for several hours. A bunch of Aloes have now been repotted, not just the one I had in mind, dead leaves have been removed, insect pests have been dealt with and a host of other things. I was so busy that I completely lost track of the time and was almost late for a lunch engagement in north London. 

What really struck me about Kew was how much better the plants grew either directly in beds or in larger pots. I have plants that have barely changed in size in several years and there are direct comparisons to be made as I once donated some spare seedlings to Kew Gardens. I refound one of these plants on Saturday and was both pleased at how massive it was and disappointed at how puny it's relatives that had remained in my care were. The difference? The restrictions of a pot, and constant heating paid for by £25 entrance tickets - gah! Not that I can do much about my growing conditions. I can't really afford to heat the greenhouse to the ideal temperature during the winter and Mrs L would surely object if I tossed the sofa into the garden and replaced it with a raised bed. But I can dream, and perhaps increase the pot size of a few choice plants....  Wheatears? Who cares about Wheatears?