A Spring in my Step

It's spring here in Malmö.  My first spring experience.  Last June, I was there in summer and the weather was perfect.  Sunny but usually a cool and comfortable temperature of around 20C.  On Saturday though, when I first arrived here, it was sunny and bright but the winds were chilly.  I was not prepared for the cold.  I was shivering and my teeth were chattering in that short 100m walk from the car to the main door of the apartment.

Oh dear.  This takes some getting used to.  Or maybe I just need warmer clothes.  Yes! An excuse to go shopping!

Despite the cold, I was excited to visit my garden.  After I tore apart my welcome basket (chocolates and recipe book), a quick breakfast, we set off for the garden.

Friends can tell you that I have been looking forward to working on my garden.  I've been going on and on about it, telling everyone and anyone who was interested that I have a garden, how big it is (10m by 11m) and what I am going to plant there.  Some friends have even gotten me a set of pink gardening tools and matching gloves!  They are so pretty that I couldn't wait to use them.

The walk to the garden was not a short one.  It took about maybe 15 minutes to reach it.  But I welcomed the exercise.  It helped to keep me warm.  The patch of land that greeted me was bare except for some weeds.  The potato patch have not yet shown any activity.  But dandelions and other weeds have claimed some parts of the garden.

Wow.  I have lots to do to make it look like a real garden.  I have never done any planting before. Never ever.  Where do I start?  Pete's mum was going to meet us at the garden.  She is the expert, having had gardens ever since Pete was small.  She used to help her grandmother.  So, yeah, she's the expert.

While waiting for her, I took out the garden fork and dug out some weeds.  The yellow dandelions were so pretty and I gazed at them lovingly.  But Pete said, "You know they are weeds, honey."  Yeah, I guess in a few weeks or so, I will not look at them so kindly if they were to invade my garden.

Pete watered the row of potato plants.  He couldn't help me do the weeding cos his leg is busted.  He can't kneel or squat.  After just 10 minutes, I filled my pail, a pink one with a black handle (another item in my welcome basket - Pete chose that one cos it matched my gardening tools) with weeds.

That was when Pete's mum and Pernilla arrived.  They brought more gifts for me.  His mum has started growing cucumbers and squash for me, ready to be transplanted.  She also gave me a pot of beautiful hydrangeas.  And there were baby petunias from the nursery.  Purple and pink.  Those were from Pete.  So, with their advice, we picked a spot, and I planted a row of these, alternating the pink with the purple.  Pete, the water guy, got water off a tap nearby and watered them.

But the vegetables and hydrangeas had to wait.  Pete's mum had to leave and they dropped him and me off.  The weeding and planting took a bit of work - squatting, bending, digging and pulling.  But I didn't break a sweat.  I know there will be more hard work ahead if I were to get the garden to look like what I want it to be.  But I will not rush it.   I will start by taking baby steps.