Oh my word, it’s as though nature looked at the calendar and on May the 1st just ‘unleashed’ itself. As if by the flick of a switch everything has just started to grow at a rate of knots – including the grass, brambles, and weeds. It has all just become very verdant since Beltane, or May Day, which traditionally marks the peak of spring and the beginning of summer. It is also midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice, and there is only 45 days until the longest day.

Try to keep on top of jobs in the garden at this time of year. If you are doing No Mow May, then at least keep a few paths cut through your lawn so you can still ‘use’ the space and access other areas.

With the increased gardening jobs, comes the inevitable increased annoyance about pests. I have decided not to grow any veg this year as I battled against moles, voles, pigeons and rabbits last year – and they all beat me into submission. Which is fine, this year I will just take my custom to Farmer’s Markets and save myself the stress of watering and pilfering pests. I am growing salad leaves and herbs in the back yard where I can keep more of an eye on them and they also provide maximum fresh ‘home grown’ taste with minimum fuss. A lot of the gardeners I talk to now have resigned themselves to covering crops with nets to stop pilfering pigeons and have had to rabbit proof their veggie patch due to the increase in ‘burglaring bunnies’ in the last few years. I think Pam Ayre’s poem sums it up nicely.

I share my lawn with a couple of moles,

Share my carrots with a couple of voles,

Share my earth with a worm or nine,

Because the land is ours.

Not mine.

Still on the subject of ‘pests’, a friend recently tried out the Pestects bracelets when she went abroad. The bracelets claim to repel mosquitoes and other biting insects, and apparently worked well. I have ordered some and I will let you know if they repel midges and horse flies a bit later on. For years, I have been using a well-known body oil by the company that used to ‘ding dong’ at your door, which is very effective and used by fishermen and the SAS.

But I’m always up for trying something new and love a plaited bracelet! They last for up to 300 hours, so no need to reapply oil or creams, keep working during and after swimming, and are made from vegan and eco friendly materials and only use essential oils. They can be worn on ankles and/or wrists as are fully adjustable. Set up by Tom out of frustration at having camping trips and foreign holidays spoiled by biting insects, the company also offers insect repellent spray and patches.

And finally I’ll leave you with one of my brother’s latest ‘quips’. Working together last week, we were talking about getting older and who has ‘aged well’ - and who maybe not quite so well - and how sad (we think) it is when women feel they need to have ‘procedures’ to try and slow the aging process. The conversation took an unexpected turn when, refuelling the mower, my brother said, “But when it comes to getting older, you are really lucky.”

Suspecting something as close to a complement as I would ever get, I looked surprised and said, “Really?”

“Yeah”, he answered, “’Cos you don’t care how you look.”