Spring At Last?

It did seem as though spring had finally arrived, although having said that, looking out of the window right now, I might disagree as the rain falls constantly from a flat, grey sky.

But we have had some nice days, and at last gardeners have had a chance to get out and do some tidying up in the garden. It's still too chilly to put certain plants out but some of the perennials have ventured to peer up out of the ground and check whether it's safe to come out yet, and I did get my sweet peas in at last!

This year we've got some 'Skywalker' and one that has 'Ripple' in the title, but the full name escapes me! I believe it's a pinky sort of colour, so I'm thinking a raspberry ripple type colour scheme. The other is 'Sunset'. As you can see, we've put grit around the base so I'm hoping that will be enough to deter the slugs and snails, but I wouldn't bet on it. I shall be keeping an eye out for the nasty blighters. Luckily, we have a very nice couple, Mr and Mrs Blackbird, and some friends of theirs who do their best to dine out in our garden as much as possible. Hopefully that will help keep the worst off.

The lawns have gone mad, so the weeds are having a field day. I'm hoping that some regular cuts will curb them a bit but there are a few biggies of the thistle variety that will need digging out. I've thought of doing the 'Feed & Weed' but as we do have such a lot of little birds hopping around foraging I don't like the use of chemicals and avoid them if at all possible. I'd rather a few weeds and birds, than no weeds but no birds.

The borders themselves were in need of a decent tidy up, but thanks to some help from my Dad, they now have a proper edge which enabled me to get them much more organised and weeded.

 

 We don't have a big garden at all, but it's amazing how much work they can take to get looking good once the weeds get a hold.

Having dug out the earth to put the sweet peas in properly this year, we've cleared a small area just to put a few herbs in. We have a small rosemary in which I've found I use a lot now I can just pop out and pick it. The herb pot from last year needs a bit of attention, as you can see. These are just what was in last year that have come back up - chives and parsley (with the basil long gone!). I'm debating about putting these in the ground and keeping the re-purposed jam pan just for some basil and perhaps oregano as they are more delicate and can be moved around if needs be. We'll see. I'm still debating as to what to put in. I want to grow what I actually use.

Still plenty more to do, even in a small garden - but that's half the joy, isn't it?


Love, Maxi