Michael Rand, allotment gardener from North London, explains why Franklin's Day, 19 May, is so important to gardeners
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| Michael Rand: allotment gardener
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'In gardening terms 19 May is a crucial date, since before Franklin's Day has come and gone, there's always the possibility of a late frost destroying those carefully nurtured seedlings, as well as your fruit-tree blossom. But, after Franklin's Day, you're safe.'
Here's a nugget of gardening lore, so ancient and so obscure, you won't even find it – I tried – in that colossal boneyard of global wisdom known as the internet…except for right here of course.
Unless it happens to be your birthday, or the occasion of some other notable event, there's no doubt that 19 May this year will slip quietly and unremarkably by (or may already have done so, depending on the date you read this). An ordinary day, just like any other, you may think. Nothing special.
Well, not quite, because there is, so it seems, something entirely different and special about 19 May. It's Franklin's Day.
19 May – a crucial date
In gardening terms 19 May is a crucial date, since before Franklin's Day has come and gone there's always the possibility of a late frost destroying those carefully nurtured seedlings, as well as your fruit-tree blossom, which is, of course, equally perishable in a freeze. But, after Franklin's Day, you're safe. No more frost and, what's more, no more possibility of one. Now, I'm not sure this applies in the far North, but certainly throughout the rest of the country us gardeners can at last breathe a collective sigh of relief knowing that the cold months are behind us for the year. Which, surely, qualifies 19 May as The Greatest Watershed of the Gardening Calendar.
Strange to report, then, that even among the most dedicated of today's gardeners, Franklin's Day is so little celebrated. Having made enquiries around my fellow plotholders up at the Fitzroy Park allotments, the more polite responses were along the lines of 'Franklin who?'. Good question. To find out the answer, I tracked down an old acquaintance of mine, Mr David Roose. Thanks indeed to Dave for the following exposé of the original Mr Franklin:
'I don't know when he lived, probably a couple of hundred years ago or more. But what's certain is, he was a puritanical character. A spoilsport. One thing about him in particular upset his neighbours, which was his severe disapproval of their love for homemade cider. Most of them were very partial to scrumpy, as it's still known, and Franklin hated this cider-drinking with a vengeance.
Praying for a late frost
'So much so, in fact, that every year in the spring he'd call upon Almighty God to send down from the heavens a late frost, to blast the blossom off the neighbourhood apple trees. Such was the passion of Franklin's prayers, they worked! Down came the frost, late in the spring, and Franklin's village and those round about had to go without their scrumpy for another year.
'The harder he prayed, the more notorious he became, and after a while this notoriety spread far and wide. Could he really call down a frost, as many people thought? Well that's the whole point, they thought he could, and that was enough. It wasn't long before any late frost, affecting any crop, was blamed on Franklin, in all the counties of the south and west.
'At the same time, people soon noticed that whatever Franklin's powers, real or imagined, they lost all their force every year on 19 May. After then they were safe, and so would be their precious cider. Thus, 19 May became Franklin's Day, and Franklin's Day it's been ever since.'
So, on 19 May, here's wishing a Happy Franklin's Day to all gardeners! Though, what with global warming, we may soon have to switch our celebrations to earlier in the year. Perish the thought!
About the author
Michael Rand tends an allotment in North London and is the author of
Close to the Veg: a book of allotment tales, price £10.99, published by
Marlin Press.
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