Happy Christmas

Gardening at Wandong PS, August 2009.
I suppose we look back on every year and say “wasn’t that amazing? Where did it go?” but it has been amazing and I’ve no idea where it has all gone. As a nurseryman the whole year feels like it hinged on February. After a mild January we had that extraordinary burst of 3-4 days above 40C followed shortly afterwards by Black Saturday. The whole community appeared to be quite numbed by the experience.
At the nursery we certainly thought the world would end. No one wanted to buy plants and we really lost the incentive to keep producing. And here’s the thing I have learnt from the experience. We all got back up, dusted ourselves off and got back on with it. We are saddened by the loss, inspired by the bravery and heartened by the generosity.
The gardening community reflected this perfectly. The RHSV quickly set up a Disaster Relief Fund (Bravo Don, Jennifer and your committee) and gardeners quickly got back into their gardens. Unfortunately Scotsburn was left behind, having almost stopped producing we were not prepared when gardeners decided it was time to refresh their heat ravaged gardens.
Well, live and learn. While “traditional” punnet seedling sales continue to struggle gardeners are obviously adapting to changing conditions and growing a different range of plants. So remarkably enough after a challenging year I’m more confident heading into 2010 than I have been in many years and inspired at the thought of growing new and interesting plants.
Thank you for opening and reading my emails. The comments and replies that I get are a great motivation.
Best wishes for a safe and happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year to you and your loved ones.