I’ve returned home to the seaside after three weeks away. Hurrah! It’s good to be back, but boy is it cold.
In my absence, spring seems to have made little headway in it’s battle with winter. Snow is forecast today and the sky is low and leaden. However there are signs that the fight is being won. Deep purple crocuses in a densely planted pot have almost jettisoned the violas I planted above them in their eagerness to get above ground. Mrs Blackbird has been busy stripping the bark off the Lyonothamnus, combining it with moss and Diascia stems to make her (rather exotic) nest. She’s sited it directly below the gutter on the garage, so I hope it’s a dry spring for her sake. If she keeps the Diascia well watered it might even take root. Tulipa ‘Early Harvest’ (above) is doing its best to offer some spring cheer, but our daffs still have a way to go. Not one in sight for Mother’s Day.
Saving the best ’til last, a small garden centre has opened in the high street, no more than 100 yards from our garden gate. It’s nothing flash, but appears to have all the necessities (tomato food, seeds, slug pellets, bird food) as well as unnecessary indulgences such as potted orchids and bedding plants. This means no more trips in our deeply impractical car to buy compost and pots when I run out, which is often. So things are looking up. All we need now is a bit of sunshine to transform the scene above into the scene below!
Categories: Bulbs, Container gardening, Flowers, Garden Wildlife