Today

was wonderful.

Flowers in the house

I have a choice of flowers to pick in the garden now that such good weather has arrived. Even so I couldn't resist these supermarket roses, only £2 from Lidl!

It has been an excellent year for camellias, with hardly any damage done to the blooms. 

They will not be flowering for much longer and I have brought some sprays into the house to enjoy, partnered with flowering redcurrant.

Oh, beautiful E.G. Waterhouse, I love you!

And in the greenhouse I feel much the same about my new 'Blue Moon' tree peony.

It's a perfect spring.



For flwrjane's 

flowers in the house at small but charming.

Spring walk

Fields have been ploughed and hedges clipped, it's all looking fine.

In the woods I can see only one wood anemone is in flower but every day the bluebell leaves are pushing themselves further out of the ground.

A small, muddy stream feeds the pond that lies in the heart of the wood. The most delightful thing about it is it's tinkling sound when all other distant noises have been deadened by the canopy of trees.

There has been quite a lot of  clearing and replanting work done in the woods. The old fir tree that used to grow in a lopsided manner on the tiny island in the centre of the pond has been cut down. You can see the pathway through the water that was made to access the island and two saplings have been planted as a replacement.

There are always some muddy tracks, as water seeps down the slopes to the stream at the bottom of the valley. The mud gives information of the traffic through the woods, plenty of deer prints, well-shod humans and some rather large dogs!

There is a pathway in the woods wide enough for vehicles where the shoot drive through. The grassy verges are dotted with wild daffodils. There don't seem to be many in flower this year.

But when I look in the pheasant pen, where there is no access, I can see plenty of flowers.

Someone has obviously been doing a bit of illegal picking on the verges.

 
We came back by the lake where all the ducks have paired up. They went onto the water, taking avoiding action, when they saw Maisie.

On the roadside verge outside our gate there are wild violets

and celandines.

Moss attack

This is what one bag of lawn sand can do to moss in the lawn! Himself got the scarifyer out, but the grass was too long so it wouldn't work. 

Then he got the lawn mower out 

after which there was success with the scarifyer. But there's a lot more work to be done, and the lawn looks like a dog's dinner.

Oh, the envy I feel when I read that Angela at frugal gardening tips has a husband who nurtures a 'perfect lawn'!

But elsewhere in the garden things are looking up. The auriculas are coming into flower.

And do you remember me buying this tree peony, 'Blue Moon', at the rare plant sale last year? I potted it on and have kept it under glass throughout the winter. I am so glad that I did because it is about to repay me with two flowers. 

The tree peonies that are growing in the garden are very sorry for themselves, cold winds have done a lot of damage and there will be few, if any flowers this year, although I can see some signs of new growth just starting to push through the soil. 


The un-named camellia outside the kitchen door is giving a good display

but quite my favourite camellia is E. G. Waterhouse. She is my least vigorous camellia bush, with just a few flowers that hide themselves beneath the glossy leaves. But, oh, isn't she beautiful!

I've picked a couple of blooms so that I can enjoy the structure and colour.

Just about perfect!

 

Moaning!

I'm moaning. 

Where's the sun! Where is the warmth?

And look at the state of the lawn. It's nothing but moss.

It's crept everywhere and is choking the plants in the gravel garden.

What do you see here - daffodils?

When I look I see only ground elder EVERYWHERE in the borders, pushing up through the newly emerging perennial plants. I've been battling this weed for years, with little success.

And my precious tree peonies have taken a real battering from the weather. Those safely under cover in the greenhouse are in a much happier state.

But some of my auriculas have perished. When I tip them out of their pots what do I discover but fat, white grubs. Dreaded vine weevils. How I hate them. Now I shall have to check and repot my entire collection.

I've potted on the sweet peas and primulas, they'll go outside as soon as there is a little warmth.

But it's time to stop moaning because the garden is alive with the sound of birdsong

and blossom.