The gardens have burst into life now and there is colour to be enjoyed everywhere I look.
The bitterly cold winter has left a trail of casualties in its wake. Amongst them an olive tree, several acers and many shrubs. Happily, many hydrangeas and fuchsia I thought had died are growing back from the base.
It looks like it may be a good year for the fruit trees as the apricot, plums, pears, apple trees and edible cherries are laden with blossom. I have my fingers crossed that we don’t get any more high winds which will see any fruitlets off.
The flowering cherries are due for a good prune by a tree surgeon next month as they are now carrying a lot of dead wood.
Has anyone else noticed the millions of sycamore seedlings, here they are growing everywhere, in amongst the white stones, the borders, in pots and in the lawn. I’ve filled bin after bin with them and still pick at least forty on a daily basis.
I was happy to see frog spawn returning to the pond we cleared out last year. This pond always had frogs in until the Beast from the East killed them all off several years ago. Now the pond is full of tadpoles which Littl’urchin is enjoying watching.
The soft fruit border wall is doing really well. The strawberries and raspberries are flowering and the tiny plants in the middle picture are finally putting a growth spurt on.
I’ve had to buy a new water lily for the pond in the front as the cold winter seemed to have killed the last one off. We now have a heron and a few robins enjoying hanging out here. At least the grasses are doing well!
The herbs seem happy enough in the raised wall.
I’ve finally managed to cover several areas with weed fabric control and white stones which will hopefully result in less maintenance.
Slowly but surely we’re getting jobs done. This border has a hardy grape vine planted in it, it’s only about four inches high at the moment but I have high hopes for it. Ever the optimist!
I’ve also treated myself to a pair of pencil cypress trees, not much to look at yet but they are supposed to be fast growing. P.S, do you see the sycamore seedlings growing in the gutter? Everywhere they are….EVERYWHERE!
The cherry trees in our road are out, always a pleasure to see…
and a holiday to The Lakes to celebrate hubs and daughter’s birthdays has been enjoyed. This time we stayed in Grasmere, such a beautiful area. We were astonished at how long Littl’urchin managed to stay in the icy water of the lake.
And Finally…
we got to see Elton John’s farewell tour, only delayed by two years as a result of covid!
Thanks Kitty, I do hope you haven’t lost too many plants. Oh we have beech saplings growing everywhere too, a downside of large trees I suppose they certainly are hard work re finding them all! Yes, Elton sure deserves his retirement. Love and hugs to all.xxxx
Goodness you have been busy. Lovely the solar lights!
Thanks Steph.xxx
A most enjoyable post and lovely pictures. It’s certainly all looking good with plenty of interest.
Despite the weather the tree blossom has been wonderful.
Glad to see that you enjoyed your holiday. xx
Thanks Flighty. We were very lucky with the weather in The Lakes for once!xxx
Wow. You are not kidding about SPRING in your garden! I like how the the bed where the grape vine is has evolved over time. It’s very appealing with those bunches of primroses. And your herb raised bed is absolutely gorgeous! Does it get full sun? (We couldn’t do full sun like that here — think dried herbs by summer)
Thanks Anne. Yes, the raised bed gets full sun but as you say, not like your full sun!!!xxx
Beautiful photos – the garden is looking great. Sycamore seedlings are a nuisance especially if you don’t notice until they are quite big, Ash are also a problem. On the allotment the problems is plums that grow from fallen fruits,
Thanks Sue. We get a lot of wild plum seedlings also beech that seed everywhere.xxx
The garden looks absolutely glorious! All the hard work you’ve put in certainly has borne fruit; now we’ll hope the fruit trees and vines can do the same. I don’t have an architect’s eye, and find it hard to visualize how things ‘in process’ are going to look when completed, but if I were you, I’d be ecstatic with how well things came together. And of course all that color is terrific. Even here, mid-winter can be a bit drab, and we’re as excited as anyone to see color. I can only imagine how welcome it is after the hard season you endured.
Now, I’m off to play a bit of Elton John, and envy you for such a marvelous treat!
Thanks Linda. We are pleased with how things turned out for as you say it’s often hard to imagine when it’s just an idea in your head. Enjoy Elton!xxx
Oh wow! You’re a veritable forest garden (do you listen to The Archers?) … ever thought of inviting primary school groups to see the garden and show how much is edible? My great-niece’s school has an eco garden (posh term for veggies plot, lol) and they love it. Love MrH proudly at the pond, quite striking. I envy your green cred, my skill was to kill fake flowers.
I don’t listen to The Archers sadly…we have a school opposite our house….hmmmm now there’s an interesting thought. Haha, laughing at you killing fake flowers!xxx
Your garden is looking fabulous, so much interest with everything you have growing. Glad that some of the casualties are springing back into growth, a shame about the rest but it will give you change to add more, I know how you enjoy buying plants have receiving them as gifts too. Oh, I loved Grasmere when we visited The Lakes, such a gorgeous little village. Glad you finally got to see Elton. I’m sure he was worth the wait.
Thanks Jo. I’ll have to have a hard think about what plants will survive this ever-changing climate! I couldn’t agree more about Grasmere.xxx
Wow, so many wonderful things to enjoy. Your garden is looking fabulous and, despite you being about 200 miles North of us, your cherry blossom is far more advanced than here. So too are your strawberry plants!
Your holiday sounds lovely; what a brilliant way to celebrate a birthday. As for you having tickets to Elton John’s farewell tour – I am green with envy! xx
Thanks Veggiemummy. You would have loved Elton, ever the showman!xxx
Although you lost a few garden plants those that have survived look absolutely fabulous, your photographs of your very colourful garden are lovely to see. I also like the heron and robins by the pond 🙂
Lovely to get away to The Lakes …
The Elton John concert must have been superb, well worth the wait!
Enjoy your April days.
All the best Jan
Thanks Jan. I’ll miss not being able to watch Elton but he deserves his retirement.xxx
Oh, my friend, what glorious gardens you’ve created! I was just outside reckoning the winter damage here at Full Moon, and so to read your list of losses was sad, but hurray for the survivors. What a colorful show is crossing your stage! The herbs and fruit trees really are impressive.
I empathize entirely with those sycamore sprouts as I just saw a kabillion maples growing in my gardens. I will have to do some serious uprooting this week. I will think of you often, I am sure.
And, oh, glorious Grasmere. What a magical place it seems from those photos.
You made me recall the wonderful time I gad at an Elton John concert decades ago…I suppose he deserves his farewell tour by now. How great you could be there.
Thank you for this beautiful post. Much to cheer the heart.