One of the things I love about spring is planting stuff. Mostly vegetables but also a few favourite flowers, like nasturtiums and asters - bright coloured, happy things that look after themselves once I've lost interest and then multiply madly at the end of August. This year winter has dragged on and on and so I haven't even felt the tiniest spark of inspiration to start sowing seeds. I have a greenhouse so there's absolutely no excuse apart from the fact that I'm so lazy that I haven't cleared out all the dead stuff in the greenhouse yet, ready for planting. But these last few sunny days have got me thinking - I think I'll start with some lettuce and ruccola seeds at the weekend and I'll buy a tomato plant. Here's a tomato plant I got for my birthday a couple of years ago, which I subsequently painted in watercolour - love the orangey red (Schmincke's Permanent/Translucent Orange + Brown Madder) and the sludgey quality of Winsor and Newton's Green Gold. And can't keep my hands off the water-soluble crayons and pencils to add a bit of texture...try grating them onto wet watercolour and watch them melt! /jacqui
