THE MODERN MINT BLOG
‘Someday We’ll Linger In The Sun’ is a beautiful song by the wonderful fiddle player Gaelynn Lea.It is this lack of sunshine we want to speak about today…
As the weather reaches a balmy (barmy?) 1 degrees celsius outside, here at Modern Mint we think it is better to stay in and read about gardening than be outside doing it. Uninspired? No, just don’t want to freeze again today!
We love the cold weather at this time of year, love the garden and the way it looks as the frost begins to melt…
We adore the winter jobs, the pruning too…
But for all of that love, today really does just feel a little to cold to get stuck into the garden again.
Forgive us? Laugh and call us out as being no better than a fair weather gardener….?
Go for it! We can take it!
We are quite happy to be sat inside with a cup of coffee this morning. Listening to songs of warmer times. Which is why we suggest you take a moment to, and watch the incredible performance of Gaelynn Lea singing her composition ‘Someday We’ll Linger In The Sun’.
The melody is exceptional, the voice thrilling, and the words….? The words are deep and rich, evoking a little bit of that warmth we look forward to enjoying as this gardening year moves away from the cold and into spring, into summer….
Someday We’ll Linger In The Sun
Our love’s a complex vintage wine
All rotted leaves and lemon rind
I’d spit you out but now you’re mine
We bit the fruit, it seemed a lie
I’ll never know which way was right
Now side by side we face the night
And I love you
And I love you
We walked the pier and back again
It was the most scared I’ve ever been
You held my hand until the end
And I love you
And I love you
Don’t tell me we’ve got time
The subtle thief of life
It slips away when we pay no mind
We pulled the weeds out til the dawn
Nearly too tired to carry on
Someday we’ll linger in the sun
And I love you
And I love you
Wasting Water
Well worth a read in the BBC today – a note on how wasting water in the UK “as socially unacceptable as blowing smoke in the face of a baby.” Read the report here. I have written a talk about how we use water in the garden. It was written when I moved from Hampshire to Essex and found out for myself just how dry this area of the UK is. It completely changed the way I garden. The lack of such a precious resource as water made me question what we can do to save it, store it and …
The Foie Gras That Tastes Like Nature
Ethical Foie Gras? Is That A Real Thing? Foie gras – can it be ‘grown’ ethically? The video showing how this farmer works suggests it can… We first read about this in a book called The Third Plate by Dan Barber. I loved it and I love how Eduardo the farmer, who farms on the Dehesa in Spain, has a ‘take half leave half rule’. When talking about how the geese eat his olives… “They’re always quite fair. If you make sure the geese are relaxed and happy, you’ll be rewarded with the gift of fatty livers. That is God’s …
Hardy Orchids Via James Wong
Hardy orchids – here is a subject I would love to know more about – so lo and behold, James Wong has written about it in the Guardian! Read the article about hardy orchids here. I love having orchids in the house, just your usual run of the mill buy them in any shop orchids, but it is a pleasure to read about the plants that will grow outside and cope with this weather. (This insane weather! From the hottest days of February on record to Storm Freya, all within a week. Weather is always such a factor in gardening, but …