Material Girl | What we can do to see out spring Gardening Australia-style

Seriously, it's come just in time because I'm fresh out of Scandi Noir series on SBS on Demand.

Every single one.

Denmark. Done.

Greenland. Going. Going. Gone.

Norway. Nailed it.

Iceland. Over it.

Finland. Well, finished it.

Sweden. Sorted. Ja tak; thank you very much.

I even got through seven series of Sandhamn Murders. (How can so many crimes happen in one holiday spot each and every summer? I kept watching, all the same!!)

My husband and I now use a type of Broken-Swedish as a second language around the house.

"Do you want meatballs for dinner?"

"Absolut!"

"Do you want vodka with lunch?"

"Absolut." (Just tricking! Never on week days, anyhow.)

MORE MATERIAL GIRL:

We've slowly but surely integrated Broken-Swedish into our lives, meaning I hesitated over the Census 2021 question as to whether I spoke a second language at home.

Anyway (hur som helst)!

With spring finally here, it's high-time to put down the TV remote slowly and back away from the Scandi Noir with our hands in the air.

Spring is a time for cleaning and decluttering but luckily we've already ticked that off several times during the long winter lockdowns of 2020 and 2021.

Cleaning aside, spring is a time for new life, fresh ideas and the return of Gardening Australia.

In the spirit of Gardening Australia's chief weekend list-maker Costa Georgiadis, here's what we need to do to see out this spring amid the restrictions:

Sow what? Start with something easy, which is guaranteed to grow. Do you remember growing radishes at school in the veggie plot? That's because teachers knew you couldn't kill them no matter how much you neglected them. Also radishes are fast-growing and moderately-edible; they're popular shaved into posh salads these days too. When I had my first proper dip at growing vegetables in mid-2019, I planted kale. It's indestructible! I grew 100 grams in my first crop, which was enough for one batch of Kale, Pea and Spinach Soup. My offspring have never let me live it down! Alternatively, a raspberry bush will reward you in a couple of years if you can beat the birds to the berries.

Go forth and multiply. Gardening teaches us stuff. I bought one pot of Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina) and promptly killed it by leaving it on a sunny deck and rarely watering it. I bought a second pot and planted it in a partially-shaded, sunny spot in the garden. It has flowered and generated dozens of extra plants along two edges of the garden. A fern that was struggling in a pot in the lounge room is now thriving in the bathroom. Grass trees I tried to grow from seed failed. With plants, you quickly cut your losses and learn from your mistakes!

Duck down. Steer clear of magpies. They're really just looking after their own flock.

Car wash. I have never seen so many clean cars on our street.

Dog wash. I have never seen so many clean dogs on our street.

Window wash. I have never seen so many clean windows on our street.

This month it was finally confirmed that filming was already under way in Sweden for an eighth season of the Sandhamn Murders franchise.

Get ready to settle in again next winter, when hopefully we're not living through another lockdown.

Bloody Nora!!

That was an in-joke for those of us who have stayed the course and sat through seven seasons of Scandinavian crime in Swedish!

It's been a long winter.

Absolut!

Bring on spring.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: