In England there’s an old saying: ‘When the March winds do blow, we shall have snow.’ In sequence it is followed by the countryman’s forecast, ‘When April showers come your way, they bring the flowers that bloom in May.’ Shades of Al Jolson. Fortunately there are no falls of snow here in Guyana, although when you’re stood near to the top of Roraima you might well believe that it’ll just be a matter of time, it gets so cold.

At sea level gardeners are generally blessed with the most glorious weather, and especially so in the islands many (but not all) of which have a Mediterranean type climate. Here in Guyana one cannot claim to have the same climate as Barbados. It is wetter. There is more rain. You do not have hurricanes, and apart from the occasional gentle long-distance shake neither do you have earthquakes – thank goodness for that. You are especially fortunate in being able to grow almost anything.  You can almost see the growth.  Seeds start to germinate within hours of being sown.

Of course you need to give protection to your plants:  Protection from the blazing sun, the drying winds, and the heavy rain, but gardeners here mostly know all about these things.  In my opening paragraph I said that in England there is a…..