I don’t know about you, but I am over the weather!  I just want a few dry days in a row… it doesn't even need to be warm.  I can cope with a little bit of cold – I haven’t put my beanie or thick socks away just yet! 

The thing I am finding the most annoying with the weather is I check the long-range forecast and it says heavy rain for days, so I make indoor plans.  But then the forecast changes or by the time it gets here there is only a couple of hours of heavy rain in the middle of the night, but that means the forecast said the whole day was rainy and it is too late to adjust my indoor plans…  I’m finding I’ve become a bit obsessed with the forecast and am checking it several times a day!

Oh, and welcome to October!  How quickly we whizzed through that first month of spring!  I think collectively we have achieved so much to get to this point.  But by the time we get to the end of October there will have been even more progress that is hard to visualise right now.  But we just need to continue in a slow and steady pace because there is still plenty of time to get everything done. 

And now I have a couple of important announcements….

*** This week the lucky recipient of the free seeds is James at Old Mangakino Orchard (McCallum's Garden).  Congratulations.  I will send some interesting seeds to you that will suit your garden.  ***

And it is also time for another ENCOURAGMENT AWARD.

The team have given a lot of thought to this one as it is designed to give someone a bit of a pick me up to encourage them to keep going in getting their garden ready for the spring. 

Gardens can be a bit overwhelming from time to time, especially when life outside the garden takes priority, and everyone else seems to be making great progress.  But these days a garden is more than a hobby, it can help with the grocery bills so that can add another layer of pressure when getting the garden ready.  And on top of that this relentless rain can steal what free time is available for the garden. 

I do feel this ‘running behind’ vibe from a few of you, but one gardener I can sense is feeling it more than others and I just want this gardener to know, that we have noticed the struggle and want to support and encourage her.  It isn’t a race, and she will get there in the end. 

So, join me in congratulating Rachael from Northland Backyard Gardener.  We hope this prize pack gives you a wee boost and the motivation to keep putting one foot in front of the other…  You’ve got this!

If the weather does sort itself out before the end of the week I will be starting to put up the structures that will support my plants this season.  Most are tried and tested and others will be a new and improved version.  And I hope to get to the last of the enriching of the old beds.

Happy gardening and as always – if you want to get in touch leave a comment below.

Sarah the Gardener  : o)

Photo:  my poor windswept onions