Bedding down

On Sunday, the last day of January, I popped into my local garden centre to buy yet another pair of secateurs. Top of the 'I'm always losing these' list, I usually manage to mislay at least two pairs of secateurs each year; they mysteriously manage to get thrown away with plant debris onto compost heaps or get left in gardens. Now I don't tend to buy expensive ones as it seems a foregone conclusion that they will end up being lost, but I do like a decent pair that are good to hold and work well.

I searched high and low in the garden centre and only found a mere three pairs of secateurs, all the same brand, to choose from. Staff at the centre were busy clearing away the remains of Christmas decorations and lights and I asked if there were any more in a different location in the shop (you know how it is, things are always being moved around). Apparently not. How silly of me to think there would be after all this is a garden centre, not Argos.

What I did see plenty of on display which made me stop in tracks was masses of tiny bedding plants no bigger than the size of a thumb. Let's just back pace here - it's the last day of January and summer bedding plants are on sale. It's almost as bad as seeing Christmas decorations in the shops in August. We'll be growing sunflowers in November next.