Its been grey and misty today. I got on and planted my wee collection of plants before also sowing some more broad beans and cucumbers. The insect life didn’t seem to mind the grey nor the birds. Ben was just patiently waiting for me to feed him.
Sunday
I have had a spending spree this week with a few new plants to show for it. I’ve placed the pots around the garden and hope it will be dry enough tomorrow to plant them out. I sat and watched the birds with Ben.
Saturday
Today’s weather was a lot better than advertised after a tremendous thunderstorm last night. I potted on the cosmos today and moved things off windowsills and into the cold frame and summerhouse. The potatoes needed another layer of compost so the bags are almost full now. Meantime Ben kept an eye on me and the birds.
Tuesday
We have had a lovely sunny day and we both spent most of the afternoon sitting in the sun. I did a little deadheading. I potted on cornflowers and checked on the progress of my cuttings - looking good so far.
Sunday
Today was a bit of a washout. I sowed my courgettes & watched the rain. Eventually the sun came out & Ben checked out the potato sacks in a very quick wander in and out of the Magic Garden. The magnolia is in full bloom & spectacular against the sky.
Saturday
I had a lovely afternoon in the Magic Garden with Ben. I planted out more of the sweetpeas and a couple of aquilegia. I also covered up the potatoes shoots. They are coming on fast.
Friday
I came home to a lovely evening of sunshine with the bees still around the apple blossom and the gone-to-seed kale. Ben joined me for a sit in the Magic Garden after he’d wolfed down his tea
Thursday
We’ve had a day of mostly sunshine although it is very chilly. Ben and I enjoyed quiet time in the Magic Garden
Tuesday
We did have sunshine today, with a couple of sharp showers, and a chilly wind. The bees were busy although I still think the numbers are low. I hope it warms up soon. Ben seemed happy enough although maybe that was nip induced.
Sunday
I spent a chunk of today in the Magic Garden photographing bees and birds before planting out lavender plants from B&Q. It is good to see that there are bees and other pollinators around so hopefully there will be apples and blueberries this year. The potatoes are making an appearance and after slugs have taken out all but one of the purple curly kale plants I’m trying again with some Russian kale instead.
Saturday
Its been a dry and occasionally sunny day today after yet more rain during the week. The Magic Garden is looking lovely and green and it was lovely to sit there this evening and listen to the birds. Today was about checking on progress of what I think must be frilly tulips, finding what I think is Glandora diffusa (Lithodora) on the far side of the pond under the broom. The broom is currently spectacular and its scent is lovely. I potted up dahlia (Bishop’s Children) seedlings today and I’ve put them in the summerhouse as the next stage of hardening off. The apple blossom may all yet be out in the same time period as the Bramley seedling has just started to come out.
Monday
It is wet again here today. I am a bit concerned that the weather may be putting off my usual pollinators for the blueberries and other soft fruit although the gooseberries & blackcurrants look as if they are setting ok.
Sunday
It wasn’t particularly warm but we had a bit more sun today and the wind is less of a feature. It still rained though! I planted out a pair of nip plants in the back border today to try and replace the ones that didn’t survive Ben’s attentions. I also bit the bullet and planted out about 2/3s of my sweetpeas. They have been sat in the cold frame for weeks so are very leggy.
Saturday
Another day of gusty wind and sharp showers but definitely feels of spring now with more apple blossom out & the garden is greening up. I added in another pulmonaria today - ‘opal’ and planted a Geum Tosai Orange along the path. Ben dodged the showers with me and we filled up the bird feeders too
Friday
I have had to be away this week so it was a relief to have a few moments this evening in the Magic Garden when it wasn’t raining or blowing a gale. The wind spinners were still working hard. Its a bit milder today so the bees are beginning to venture out. My apple blossom isn’t quite in sync so I hope the sun will bring out more. The catnip plants are doing well despite Ben’s administrations.
Monday
I have a new camera which means I’ve spent a wee bit of time appreciating how the Magic Garden is growing with apple blossom coming out, the continuing hellebores are blooming still, stray wee violets coming out having self seeded around the garden & the glorious marsh marigold in the pond. Ben I think was just delighted to have me home and be in the garden without it raining!
I’m really pleased with the images I have obtained without an awful lot of effort! The flower buds on both the yellow dogwood & the rowan tree are crisp on a non-specialist lens and it seems to capture Ben’s spotty stripes perfectly too
Saturday
A definite feel of warmth today. It is pretty windy and more rain is expected again.
The wee rhubarb I rescued is doing well in its pot while the rhubarb I bought in the autumn is growing well. It is called Goliath is growing well.
Tuesday
I’ve had a busy few days both in and out the Magic Garden. I have cleaned out the cold frame and washed its glass clean so that Ben can get it all smeary again. The seed growing is so far going well this year with the first lot of broad beans planted out into the vegetable troughs. I have taken cuttings from the white buddlea
My lovely cat twitter friends have given me a Edgeworthia chrysanthemums Red Dragon in memory of my Mum.
Saturday
Another day filled with sunny intervals and time in the Magic Garden for both Ben and me profitably spent. I cleared some more sludge out of the pond, thinned the rushes & irises at one end and reconfigured the boulders again. I then set up the solar fountain to try and aerate the water a little. I filled it up a bit too and added some antisludge treatment.
Good Friday
We have had a lovely afternoon only briefly interrupted by showers. Ben spent some of it supervising my efforts and seemed to enjoy the sunshine by the pond. Today was mainly about maintenance with some weeding & deadheading of daffodils together with clearing the finished vege from the troughs and replanting with fresh red curly kale. The green variety is still going strong but has started to go to seed so will get a bit bitter now. I potted up a blackcurrant bush which hopefully will rapidly get its feet down. The gooseberry & blueberries are already flowering but there are not a lot of pollinators in evidence. At the end of the afternoon it suddenly darkened with much heavier rain but by the time I was putting the hedgehog food out it had passed over.
