For the horticulturist this time of year is all about nurturing new life – a responsibility not to be taken lightly. The plant works tirelessly throughout the year – forming new shoots, buds, flowers and finally seeds.

Then it’s over to the green fingers – to sow, nurture and plant out this blue print for new life enveloped in a seed coat.

Well, since it was getting on in March, we didn’t have time for this sentimentalism at the seed sowing workshop. Instead we got down to the practicalities – how to sow, when to sow, what to sow (for more information see www.hcfa.org.uk/documents/factsheets/seed%20factsheet.pdf) – with Peter Clarke, the perfect man for the job.

With 30 years of farming and sowing experience Peter is a man who has spent his life putting this sentimentalism into practice. We quickly followed suit and, with an impressive turnout, sowed hundreds of different seeds. We now have to concentrate on the tricky bit – nurturing. As many an experienced horticulturalist will tell you “anyone can sow a seed, not everyone can grow a seed”.