A LEEK BY ANY OTHER NAME

Leeks are so trustworthy.  They take a long time to grow to any significant size and you do have to do peculiar things to them if you want them to have a long white stem (transplant them when they’re pencil thick into a deeper hole and leave them lolling in it without backfilling around them), but apart from that, nothing.  They’ll sit there happily through the winter, come hell and other things like snow and frost and gales and possibly high water; ready to harvest whenever you like, and cooked however you like (try leek and goat’s cheese tart for starters).  I grew a lovely heritage variety last year called ‘Blue Solaise’ that had deep blue/green leaves.  I grew it next to some lovely red cabbages and had the wretched caterpillars not eaten the cabbages, they would have looked so beautiful together ...

Tentative and precious, the first flowers are emerging now.  Snowdrops, crocuses, early narcissi and hellebores are dotted about the garden, like brave pioneers in a new land.  They’ll soon be overshadowed by the mad spring rush. but at the moment they have the place to themselves.  Plant them where you can see them, or by the front door, they’ll be a cheery sight on a bleak February day.