Are you a planner or a dreamer?
, by Ellen Rignell, 2 min reading time
I can divide all my market customers into two types - they’re either a ‘planner’ or a ‘dreamer’.
The planners approach my stall brusquely, with a well-thumbed piece of paper in hand. They know the exact contents of their seed tin at home and they have a carefully curated list of crops they need to add to their stock this year. They are direct and purposeful and they ask me all sorts of excellent questions about the varieties, working out if they’ll thrive in their plot. They have an exhaustive knowledge of the varieties they’ve grown in the past, they know their names, how they grew and what they thought of them.
The ‘dreamers’ bound up to my stall. Their eyes light up as they pour over the colourful photographs of our varieties. They tell me about their ambitious garden project plans, the new greenhouse that’s going up, the raised bed kit they’ve just bought. They quiz me about varieties they’ve grown and loved but can’t quite remember the name of. They usually swap or pick up more seeds as I’m taking their card payment.
Either of these sound familiar?
If you’ve worked with me, you might think I’m a planner. If you’ve lived with me, you’ll know I’m a dreamer at heart. I love a new project, a shiny new packet of seeds. I don’t like methodically taking inventories and going over lists (boring). But a decade of growing food and flowers has taught me that a solid plan is worth making if you want a successful season in the garden. And it’s really important if you want to avoid overbuying and over-sowing seeds.
Over the next few weeks, my newsletters, blogs and instagram posts will all be focussing on how to plan your garden. There will be free growing guides, planting plans, crop guides and blog posts all with the aim of getting you on solid ground before you embark on this year's gardening adventure.
I’m really excited to share them all with you! But for now, if you’re a dreamer like me, why not take a moment to open up your seed tin and check what you’ve got in stock and maybe even start a little list of a few things you’d like to grow.
- Ellen
