Combating the winter blues

I have a confession. I have been in a grumpy garden winter slump. On the whole I avoid the patch of scrubland on the other side of the backdoor. There is so much tidying up to be done but it's cold, windy and totally uninviting.

I have a few unofficial therapies to stir the sap that include watching an assortment of TV shows presented by passionate experts. I savoured The Queen's Garden and Britain's Best Back Gardens (BBBG) both on ITV with our Alan. One of the three episodes (BBBG) featured the Four Seasons Garden, Buchanan Road in Walsall. I visited last May on a National Garden Scheme open day. I was blown away by the colours, density, and variety of planting. This year it is open for three days in May; Sunday 17, Sunday 24, and Monday 25, from 10am to 5pm. What a TREAT! www.fourseasonsgarden.co.uk

However, inevitably the programmes' good weather often makes the view from the kitchen sink look and feel even bleaker. On the rare occasions I push on, the cold and bare patches of mud fail to inspire a smile let alone action. It's a hostile world.

I stumbled across my next remedy as I flicked through the gallery on my mobile phone. Spring and summer bloom in my hands as last year's flowers pose once more. The kaleidoscope of colour and form is spectacular. Memories and joy flood back. Hope is restored! It was fun taking the shots and even slightly addictive. It made me stop and appreciate right then and there. And if someone does not have a garden, they can still take photos of parks, shops, shows, with the added benefit that no weeding or staking is required.

This brings me to another antidote: garden centres. They give me instant happiness, and with luck something worth venturing into the wasteland to see next year.

New arrivals: Helleborus HGC Pink Frost from Hollybush GC, Shareshill, fritillaria meleagris from The Range, Galanthus nivalis snowdrops & a witch hazel from Dimmingsdale GC, Lower Penn

So my last tip for lifting the spirits – I am filling in the calendar with all the garden happenings for 2015. Gardeners' World returned to BBC2 on Friday and The Beechgrove Garden will air from April 2 on BBC Scotland.

RHS Malvern Spring Festival is from May 7-10.

The final word:

THE CROCUS by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)