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If you’re thoughts are turning to the garden and what to plant this year.

Will I have hanging baskets or containers, or will I just stick to cutting the grass?

Why not come along to the Gyle this Saturday or Sunday between 10 am and 4 pm, all activities free of charge.

Carole Baxter of Beechgrove Garden fame is headling up a Flower Power weekend with garden advice and plant clinics. However, more importantly, Suntrap Garden will be there showing you how to plant your hanging baskets and containers.

There will also be lots of activites for the kids with a stilt-walker, table decorations to be made and lots more.

Jeana works at Suntrap Garden near Ratho.

So, I’d like to suggest that you make a date in your diary for a trip out for its Open Day on 25th May, 10.30 am - 4.30 pm.  If the weather stays like it is just now it’ll be a fantastic day out in a beautiful spot with money going to charity.

Here’s the link.

These shots were taken last year at the Open day.

Well. Google seems to think so…Then again, we’re only 21st out of 36 million. Must try harder.

We finally gave up on the old rubbish dishwasher. It was always leaking and the timer didn’t really work, it often failed to switch itself off at the end of a cycle and could end up washing the dishes all day. I felt there was only so many times you could call the Gas Board out to fix it. (By the way this is the best cover ever for your domestic appliances, they come out on a weekly basis to fix things in this house, if need be.)

So, on Saturday morning, I was doing some weeding in the garden, Mark put the new dishwasher in. There was no swearing, nothing, a very peaceful morning. Mark even managed to lift the old machine into the garden on his own. I was very impressed and told him so.

Then I noticed and said to Mark. “It’s still full of all the dishes.”

“Yeah, but I’ve put the new one in.”

Job done, off he went.

Mark seems to be on a bit of a rant. It’s that holiday feeling he gets.

If any of you are looking for something a bit more relaxing and your thoughts are turning to outdoors and the garden, Suntrap is running a couple of short gardening courses. They’re very informative and good fun, just phone the college and sign up.

Saturday morning courses run from 10 am to 12 Noon at only £6 plus materials. On Saturday 12 April, you can learn all about Bonsai’s, run by the Scottish Bonsai Association, and you’ll come away with your own bonsai. You can make your own Summer hanging basket or container on the 24th of May.

Alternatively, you might be interested in two evening classes:

A How to Design your Garden course starts on Wednesday 16 April - 2 July for 13 weeks and costs £95.00. - great if you’ve got either a brand new garden with nothing in it or an area that you want to do something with and you don’t know how to get started.

Amateur Gardening - which is the one I started with many years ago - runs on a Thursday evening from 7.00 - 9.00 pm from the 24 April - 26 June and costs £75.00 plus materials.

You can take part in as many of the courses as you like.

So, if you’re in the gardening mood. Check out the Suntrap site or blog.

Some people might think we know that spring has sprung because the snowdrops are flowering,

Daffodils are beginning to pop their heads out of the ground and flower,

But I think it’s when you can get your washing back out on the line in the garden.

And, as my father-in-law, Peter Gorman, used to say “There’s nothing better than watching your washing blowing in God’s good wind.”.

For the fourth year in a row South Queensferry won the Neighbourhood/Community Category in the Keep Edinburgh Growing Competiton.

We were awarded second prize for best street for Mid and West Terrace.

Ferry Tap won for best commercial property and Echline Primary School were awarded for school garden.

I would like to thank all the community who have helped on Greenferry planting and clean up days and for looking after the area throughout the year.

I think we all need a drink in the Tap to celebrate.

I’ve just been sent an update of the Greenferry website . We’ve had a very busy year but the changes to Queensferry have been well worth it. If you’ve been thinking about digging up a bit of your garden, planting some pots or even making some costumes and need some inspiration, have a look at our website www.greenferry.co.uk and you’ll see what can be achieved.

The best bit of all though is the latte and piece of Rocky Road at Picnic coffee shop afterwards. You can sit outside and watch the world go by on the Terrace and be served by some lovely staff, especially our Amy.

Now, I’m off to finish planning the autumn tubs and containers.

I always moan that I have all sorts of bird feeders in the garden and no birds appear.

But the last couple of mornings I’ve enjoyed my morning cup of tea watching the to-ing and fro-ing of lots of little birds. So I just wanted to remind everyone that as the weather is changing and getting colder, make sure you’re feeding all the little birdies.

I buy my bird food at the wholesalers, Lawson Donaldson, at Calder Road. A 20kg bag of wild bird feed for £9.00 lasts me a year and the two bird feeders were only £5.00. So get yourself along for all your garden paraphanalia before the 31st October as it is closing down.

For all of you out there who think that gardening is a very haphazard pastime I’m here to prove otherwise.

I’m sure most of the time Mark wonders what I get up to. He comes through the front door and it looks exactly the same as it did when he went out in the morning.

“But Jeana the kids are at school all day, what have you been doing?”

Well, here’s the answer.

I spend a lot of time with Greenferry, the voluntary organisation which is involved with all “green” things in South Queensferry. I’ve been busy designing and organising the planting schemes for our High Street; hanging baskets, barrels and containers - all 104 of them.

This morning was our big day. So with a large folder with a map of the High Street and a planting guide for every container I went off to the Police Station to meet all our keen volunteers.

We had a good family morning - Mark turned up but we were nearly finished.

There were 36 of us in total; many who hadn’t planted before, and it was a very relaxing and enjoyable morning.

Now I just have to wait for them to flower and I can sit out with a very large glass of wine and admire all our hardwork.

It’s only April, but I think the garden’s starting to look attractive already.

Here are a list of some of my favourite books.  They weren’t all published in 2006 and there are one or two which just should be read because they are brilliant.  So here goes in no particular order.   I’m going to start with two gardening books, partly because I spend half my life reading them and because the first part of 2006 was spent analysing them in great depth.

RHS Encylopedia of Gardening by Christopher Brickell

A great all-rounder book for anyone interested in gardening.  It will give you information on every aspect of anything you want to know horticulturally.

The Complete Gardener by Monty Don

Mark bought me this last year for my Christmas.  I’ve always been a Jeff Hamilton and Alan Titchmarsh fan, but I really like this.

Unfortunately, I find it really difficult watching and particularly listening to Monty on the TV, but this is a great book. It’s all about organic gardening so you’ll pasrticularly enjoy it if you’re into that kind of thing.  Personally, I have no problem throwing some slug pellets down to stop my Hostas being eaten.  This is a great read, and you do actually read it; not just look at the pictures.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

A superb book that everyone should read.  I don’t care when it was published.

Jesus’ Christmas Party by Nicholas Allen

Every year when the kids were younger I always liked to buy them a book about Christmas.  I bought this for my nephew Denny this year.  I had forgotten how good it was and how funny it is. 

Panic by Jeff Abbot

Very fast paced, easy to read thriller. 

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

You’ll get the analysis from Mark.  I read it on my holiday’s in Portugal and couldn’t put it down.  What more do you need from a book? (More lessy bits. Ed.)

The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh

Very good dark thriller.

The Emperor Series by Conn Iggulden

Excellent.  Not good if you want an exact historic account.  I discovered all sorts about Roman history and thoroughly enjoyed the read.

Well it’s official, South Queensferry is a top community. So it says in this week’s Queensferry Gazette. This is of course a headline announcing that Queensferry were runners up, Highly Commended, in the Environment Category of the Calor Gas Scottish Community of the Year 2006 competition. Greenferry were delighted and would like to thank everyone for their help and enthusiasm because we couldn’t have won it without you.

Tom Martin, chairman of the Queensferry and District Council, said “The winners - Furniture Plus of Dysart - must have been good indeed to have beaten the excellent work that Greenferry has carried out in this community.”

If you would like more information on the Calor Gas Community of the Year Awards have a look at www.villageoftheyear.org/scotland/category-winners.