Tuesday 21 February 2017

It's mizzling.

No sooner do I say how much I'm enjoying a bit of sunshine than it's back to mizzle - mist and rain. How dreary! It's really miserable out, low light levels, cold and damp, goodness knows how the spring flowers put up with it. The snowdrops look delicate but they are hardy little things. I've brought some into the house to enjoy.
There are more than five hundred cultivars of these dainty 'milk flowers' but I have only two or three un-named varieties.

New flowers are forming on my orchids. This plant had white flowers when it was given to me as a present several years ago. Since then any new shoot has produced yellow flowers.
Ain't life strange?!

Sunday 19 February 2017

At last!

At last a couple of dry days and some sunshine. I've been itching to get out into the garden for weeks. The soil is wet and sticks to my boots, but there's so much to be done, ground to clear, shrubs and trees to prune, perennials to divide that in spite of claggy (technical term!) footwear I've been outside clearing the vegetable beds ready for spring planting.
There are still quite a few crops to harvest, including sprouts, swede, leeks, chard and spinach. Can you see all the mole hills in the orchard? They've been very busy tunnelling there and in the garden whilst I've been tucked up inside throughout the winter.

It's lovely to see spring flowers and the green tips of bulbs emerging from the ground. The snowdrops are putting on a good show.

Miniature daffodils around Maisie's grave.

We walked up the road to meet friends for lunch at the local hotel.
It always involves a pootle round the vegetable garden to see what's growing.
 How impressive!

This is what I aspire to!