Tom down the road from us has no time for the sort of structure that these sowing guides give us: he waits until his nose tells him the time is right. Mind you, his fingers are so green that he could probably throw an unopened pack of seeds out of his kitchen window and still be rewarded with blooms that puts the rest of us to shame.

What this does illustrate, however, is the categories for when to sow seeds are guides rather than instructions. More often than not, it won't matter if you sow a little later than recommended and, if you live in an area unaffected by frosts, you can steal the march on us less fortunate souls by planting a little earlier. Here in Mayo, we often don't get the typical 'spring' weather until about June and, in the last few years, have gone directly from spring to autumn bypassing the summer altogether.