Better Late Than Never...

I have to admit that due to my disappointment regarding the lack of colour and wildlife in my small suburban garden during 2015 I've been reluctant to venture outdoors to see if anything 'exciting' is happening. However, determined that there WILL be some colour out there this year, I've recently purchased a large pack of 425 summer flowering bulbs and had the rather tedious task of planting them into the tubs and borders this afternoon.

Much of the garden still looks dead, but there were a few signs of life, much to my surprise. The mild winter has brought forth magnolia blooms, the mini daffodils are flowering and there's even a couple of pink hyacinths in flower. The yellow primulas are attempting to flower but are far from impressive, and the crosuses failed to appear at all, although the buddleia is predictably producing plenty of healthy-looking shoots and leaves.

After all my hard work it'll be interesting to see if anything other than californian poppies and alyssum grows this year. Only time will tell...

Magnificent Magnolia...

Well, one of the magnolias is in fine fettle while the other (smaller) one is lagging behind in the flowering department. There's also still some miniature daffodils along with some rather ragged looking yellow primulas and 3 pink hyacinths. It's good to finally see some flowers in the garden.

The wild cherry has begun to bud and I can see a few small leaves about to appear and the buddleia is beginning to grow again (although it's remained in leaf all winter).

The mint, rosemary and thyme have survived the winter, as predicted, and the recent rain has filled the water butt so I can keep the wildflower seeds I recently scattered in the borders and planters nice and damp. Fingers crossed that 2015 will see a good display of colour in my small suburban garden.

Boing, Boing, Boing...

That’s the sound of spring! Well, it is in my head anyway.

It’s the warmest day of 2014 so far and it’s fabulous. The magnolia is in bloom, which always gladdens the heart, and I’ve seen more ladybirds in the space of ten minutes than I did in the whole of 2013.

The mini daffs are looking very pretty, as are the pale yellow primulas. I even saw a couple of butterflies fluttering overhead. Unfortunately they were gone too quickly for me to identify them but it’s a very good sign to see them about.

There’s much to do in the next month or so; the shed door needs sanding and painting with preserver, the fence needs another coat of preserver and there’s decisions to be made regarding this years bedding plants.

But for now, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and I couldn’t be happier. Long may it last…

MARCH 9, 2014 

Spring Sprung...

Hurrah! FINALLY there’s a glimmer of hope that spring has arrived and we can finally look forward to turning the central heating off during the day. In an attempt to prove to myself I didn’t imagine a goldfinch at my seed feeder yesterday afternoon, I popped to tescos and bought one of those half-coconut fat feeders, filled with seeds and wormy treats. I hung it near the now half-empty seed feeder on the magnolia, which has just begun to flower and which looks fabulous.

The three hyacinths in the border are making an attempt to flower, although it’s still too early to say which ones are pink and which ones are blue. The crocuses, sadly, are nothing but leaves. The tiny tete-a-tetes are standing proud and the recent rain has encouraged the primulas to perk up a bit too. These are encouraging signs indeed…

APRIL 13, 2013