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Just the other day, I discovered a partially finished bottle of Lucozade placed in the euphorbia trough by one of the scaffolders. An architect friend commented, “Are you sure that’s Lucozade?” giving me a new perspective.

In short, the garden is in disarray. Sometimes neglect has its perks; coming back from a trip, I spotted a sunflower growing in the back corner.

Now, however, some urgent tidying is underway. As I’m expecting a baby, I’ve hired a local gardener to tackle invasive plants like green alkanet and young tree shoots from the neighbour’s tree, but keeping desirable plants. Then, in the newly cleared patches, I’ll be sowing cover crops.

Green manure are superheroes when it comes to improving soil health.

A fellow garden writer has written about cover crops, as they are essential in seasonal planting for vegetable plots. But, the only things I’m harvesting from my garden right now are a few scrumped apples and some hardy herbs.

My garden goals are modest and consistent – and enhancing soil health is my main priority. For those wondering, the scaffolding is for roof repairs, and the fences are yet to be fixed, but the neighbours are on board with replacing them.

Green manure work wonders for soil health. Bare soil invites weeds, which is why unwanted plants pop up. Yet by sowing fast-growing plants, you can control weeds, bring in bees, shelter beneficial insects, and fix nitrogen.

Cover crops may not look exciting – though some, like lupins ‘Blue Sonet’ and bird’s foot trefoil, have lovely blooms – but their purpose is to thrive rather than look decorative. After they’ve grown, you can turn them under, cut them for compost, or let them decompose for earthworms to incorporate. The real magic happens below the surface.

Now is the ideal time for sowing these overwintering crops. My selection includes rye grass, which breaks up heavy earth, Italian ryegrass, vetch, and field beans.

There’s satisfaction in planting seeds knowing it’s temporary – on the surface, anyway.