Looking forward to spring in the garden

After being at work all week and the craft fair on Saturday, I finally managed to see the garden in daylight on Sunday. I had wanted to take some photos of the fantastic icicles that I'd seen in the past week,  however the great thaw started on Sunday morning and they were mostly gone by the time I got up!

There was still plenty of snow lying on the ground, though it had already been shaken off by a lot of the plants - and I'm sure after a couple of weeks under their heavy white blanket it was a great relief.

We've had more snow in the last two weeks than I can remember. I've enjoyed seeing the garden in its white winter finery but I've not enjoyed trudging to work each day through the snow then ice and slush, and it's amazing how little snow it takes for the country to come to a standstill.

It's Thursday now and we've still got quite a bit of snow left in the garden, and piled up at the sides of pathways, but it's definitely on its way out. We've got a couple of months before the warmer weather comes, but I'm really looking forward to spring now. The seed and plant catalogues are coming through the letterbox thick and fast, and it's time to plan and prepare. I have a lot of shrubs and perennials in the garden already but I have left spaces for the odd pocket of bright annuals. One such space is in front of the garden bench; it's lovely sitting here in the summer with the bees buzzing around, watching the blackbirds splashing in the pond - hopefully this snowy cushion will be gone by then...