THERE is a sigh in the late spring air. Spring is just a sniff away now.

The first of the early flowering cherries are announcing their presence, there is a tiny tinge of green in the hawthorne hedges and the daffodils have at last trumpeted their sunny yellow heads. The land is awakening at last.

The winter slumber seems to get longer every year (or is that just the child in me subconsciously asking 'are we nearly there yet'?). Although I do manage to see the beauty in winter's cloak, I constantly yearn for the splashes of colour and interest that give a garden that exciting buzz from spring to autumn. In order to try and fill the gap I have been looking at other ways in which to maintain that glitter in the gardens during those bleaker days.

Instead of creating patterns with flowers and foliage I have been experimenting with paint, tiles, mirrors and bits of broken glass. I have learned about different types of glues, silk and matt varnishes and crackled finishes. I have stripped cabling for its copper wiring, and pulled all sorts of rubbish back out of the bins. This week I have gone all crafty.

The first problem that I tackled was a solar dome greenhouse, in which we usually grow as many varied varieties of tomatoes as possible. In the summer it is bursting with lush green growth and pockets of red, yellow, pink and purple fruit. From October though it is cleaned out and left empty. Not any more.

A colleague brought in some half used glass paints from a painting project at home. I used these to create the illusion of a living vine on the inside of the glass. I went through a bit of a learning curve at first. I realised that the design comes out better when the wind is not quite storm force (the outline has less of a wobble to it), and that a clear finish is much better than a frosted one (the latter cracks and flakes in the sun).

There is an added advantage to painting on glass. Apart from the increased aesthetic appeal, it also helps to alert people that the glass is there, and thus prevents them from sticking some part of their anatomy through it.

Not content with this, I dug out a discarded piece of clear Perspex from the joiner's shed and started doodling on it with a half-used tube of lead effect outliner. I tried to incorporate organic, elemental horticultural shapes and then painted in the colour using the leftover glass paints. I shall be searching out a suitable location for this in the gardens. It will look quite stunning with the sun shining through it. The coloured patterns should jump out from the plastic and create a jewelled patchwork on the ground.

We have had some fun making mosaics to go round the garden. Several local tiling firms have been generous enough to let us have some of their broken and discarded tiles. These were cut or smashed up and glued into colourful patterns on wooden boards. A simple waterproof grout was plastered over the top and the whole thing mounted on suitable structures around the site. A simple and satisfying focal point.

I have tied up pieces of ground-down glass from the beach with the recycled copper wire. These, attached to lengths of driftwood make stunning mobiles. My next project might be a wall made out of drained wine bottles. It may be an abstract botanical sculpture made from logs left by the arborist. It could be a living maze made of turf moulded into the lawn. It could be anything. The only limiting factor is my own imagination.

JOBS TO DO THIS MONTH

Sow sweet peas

YES, it's that time of year again. Fill small pots with an all-purpose compost and water well. Press three seeds into each pot and sieve over a thin layer of compost. Water again. Leave in a well-lit, frost-free site. When the seedlings have grown up to ten inches, pinch out the tip. This seems cruel but produces more flowers later on.

Prune buddleia

IT seems a drastic measure to take, but buddleia bushes respond better to being cut right back down to a stump of two or three foot high. The long straight stems can be saved and used for pea sticks later in the season.

Start a compost heap

IF you don't already have one, this is the perfect time to create a compost heap. Either buy one of the standard plastic barrels, or build your own out of pallets, doors or planks of wood. It needs to be exposed to the ground at the bottom so that the worms can get in and do their business. The more contained the receptacle the warmer the temperature can get and the quicker the breakdown of material becomes. Try to add things in small amounts and in mixed layers. Grass cuttings are fine as long as you intersperse these with something dry such as paper or straw. Add water at regular intervals.

P. S.

THANKS to everyone who tuned in to 'Ask about Gardening' with Brigid Press and Paul Anderson on Sunday. Your views, questions, advice and personal stories all go towards making it one of the most local, contemporary and enjoyable gardening radio slots in the area. We are on Radio Cleveland's (95FM) airwaves every Sunday from 12.00-2.00pm.

Send your questions to be answered in The Northern Echo to Brigid at brigidpress67.freeserve.co.uk or write to her care of Nature's World, Ladgate Lane, Acklam, Middlesbrough.