SPRING?

He asks as the hail hits the paving. Yes we did see our first swallow today and the ospreys at Foulshaw have an egg but the wind is cold and it has been so wet.

We also saw a tree creeper on the cherry.

The eucalyptus has shed its lower bark into a neat heap.

And we have had a harlequin ladybird, spectabilis, here - it is an invader and sadly eats other ladybirds.

Seedlings are everywhere, carpeting the path to the pond, even a sycamore behind the wiper on R's car.

The young trees have interesting colours in the fresh leaves. Have to pull them up or they would take over. Also have to deflower the rhubarb (if that is the right expression?)

We did wonder if we were going to get no cowslips but they are coming late. The Stonefield Castle rhododendron flower has lost its pink and is now white.

As one walks the woodland there is a wonderful scent and it is our rhododendron we bought in Matlock Bath some years ago.

And the Rambling Rector by the old well is out of control - will need hard pruning after it has flowered.

There is other blossom besides the cherries - greengage, damson and pear for example -

Down by the pond, still spawnless, the iris leaves and ferns give good vertical shape and the kingcups are flowering.

Elsewhere Tom's flowering currant is great and there are forget-me-nots sown all over the place.

There are also wild flowers like the cuckoo pint, bluebell and dog violet by the wood.

Sarah Raven's tulips are coming into flower in a pot outside the kitchen and I have put in the first sweet peas after loads of well rotted horse manure - hungry plants. I have also potted up five hollyhocks that arrived today in the post. Not had a lot of success with these before but here goes. So lawn, well some of it, had its first scalping . Spring is coming and the sun was warm on my back today, just a pity about the chilly breeze.

CHERRRRRRIES!

The best they have ever been.

Let me start with the Great White Cherry -

Then Shirotae, not as big or as good this year but still splendid.

So a load of more cherry pics than onto something else.

Now for something a little bit but not completely different.

Some things sp[read too much - the wild garlic for example, but we now have white comfrey doing this and I like it (for now).

The bluebell leaves are coming and we have primroses, the odd dandelion, wood anemones and self sown forget-me-nots.

Up at the woodland edge wild daffodils flourish and garden daffs on the top banking, with more primroses.

Some of the shrubs like the amelanchier and magnolia stellata still flower but storm Kathleen may blow all the petals off.

So, what else - one of the camellias is showing strong white flowered growth on one branch, the Stonefield Castle rhododendron is now flowering for the first time and euphorbias brighten up a dark corner.

And as the rain turns to sun to rain to sun to . . .well, you get the idea, I go down to the pond and there is no spawn this year. At least the golden saxifrage carpets and variegated yellow flag cheer me up. (a bit).

So as the seasons move on all too fast and the years are gone I know not where, I know where to go (I know you can tall me exactly where to go.) I shall go and put the kettle on and have a piece of R's fruit cake - the one that lifted my molar crown. Back to the dentist on Thursday 😟

YELLOW DAYS

 

So an update on Valerie the celery. She has a root to the bottom of the vase but it will be some time before we are crunching her stems. Perhaps a salad mix with apple?

Cold and wet and rainy but so what is new? I suspect when the swallows come they will head back south.

One day sun and springlike the next wet cold and windy.

The pink camellia by the shed has a white sport - one branch only. 

You cannot see it on this pic as I have cut them off and put them in a vase.

And everything is coming up blossom, especially the cherries - the Shirotae first then in a week or so the Great White.

And yellow everywhere - the cytisus, daffs and primroses.

To the story of the chippings - I got two more big sacks delivered and the gardener has put these on paths but still not enough! Time to give it a rest - anyway I told R that they had delivered green slate not blue and was somewhat berated until she saw them and said she preferred the green.

Moving one barrow load of manure at a time - enough for my back/hip whatever. 

Then raked out more weed from the pond - no spawn this year yet. I blame that heron - he/she has eaten the lot I think.

The fatsia seems to have flowered all winter and is still at it.

And I shall finish with a modest little plant - the golden saxifrage which flourishes by the stream.