MARCH MADNESS


 No wonder the month of March is said to be mad. It was named after Martius, the Roman God of War! This is the third month in the Gregorian calendar, but for the Romans it was the first month and the start of a new year. Which is probably why we all feel a bit like we’ve finally shed the dark days of winter, as we see the evenings stretching. The end of this month marks the clocks going forward, as the long days of summer finally begin in earnest. So what else can we say about March? Well, as the saying goes, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. This probably comes from the Anglo Saxon name of Hlyd Monath – or Stormy month. Typical March weather is blustery  to begin with, then after St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th, things start to calm down as the weather settles into a more spring like pattern. Good news for all our smallholders and growers who use St. Patrick’s Day as a guide to start planting their crops. This month is also the month of the Narcissus, or wild Daffodil. It’s said that the month of March inspired Wordsworth to write his famous poem, the first few lines of which we quote here:  I wandered lonely as a cloud That float’s on high oe’r vales and hillsWhen all at once I saw a crowdA host of golden daffodils… And finally, the old proverb that March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers represents the real forces of nature at work. We hope to be finding not just May flowers as early summer kicks in –  but also a  wealth of delicious homegrown seasonal veggies for our Good Food Ireland chefs to play with in the kitchen!