Sunflowers, pumpkins and emotional rollercoasters

And so, my friends, I have sad news.

Margot and Jerry, the only 2 entrants in the sunflower growing competition, are not looking well. Not well at all.

At first, it was Jerry who fell. Naturally, I was filled with glee, as this was not my entrant. Margot was still doing well. Yes, she was a little droopy, but wouldn't you be if you had to stand in a kitchen for several weeks, buried up to your knees in soil.

But now they are both basically dead. Pretty much. We haven't had a funeral for them yet - we're not ruling out all hope, but it's not looking good.

On the plus side, the pumpkins are doing marvellously, and Clive the Chive is also flourishing. This time next year, we're going to be having a pretty amazing pumpkin and chive soup.

I remember taking part in a lupin growing competition at primary school and, unlike ALL OTHER competitions, I actually did quite well. My lupin flourished, I took it home, planted it in the garden, gave it constant love and then it got greenfly and was brutally destroyed.

It's quite an emotional hobby, gardening.