Is winter over yet?

Oh, I do hope so.

I spent a lovely couple of hours in the garden last Sunday. The weather wasn't too bad (if you were well wrapped up) and it was great to be outside in the fresh air and daylight for a while. I'm so glad the nights are gradually getting that little bit lighter.

The garden won't be mine (hopefully) for very much longer. We WILL sell the house in the next few months, I'm sure, so I feel very much just a plant caretaker; no long term plans or new plants for this patch (I tell a lie, I couldn't resist a few packs of annual seeds...) Anyway, there were plenty of maintenance jobs that needed doing:

Leaves to clear away - and little slugs to dispose of.

Snow-damaged branches to prune.

More leaves and stems for the compost bin.

Climbers to cut down.

Containers to clean and tidy.

More leaves to clear up.

Some of my plants didn't survive this past winter, and others are perfectly fine: the smaller-leaved Hebe in the background seems to have faired much better than the slightly larger-leaved variety in the foreground. I'll wait a while and see if any green shoots emerge from the dead, brown ones.

I potted up a few of my favourite plants to take with me, but the frost has got to some of the containers so new ones will have to be purchased (always a pleasure!)

And it's never a chore cutting down old stems when you can see the signs of new life forming beneath them. We may not have seen the last of the winter weather, but spring is definitely on its way.

Do you have big plans for your garden this year?

Colourful critters

I've been enjoying making lots of colourful items this past week or so. I think the brighter, sunnier days of spring are influencing my choice of yarns!

I made this sweet little dog sweater as a commission from a customer at the Grainger Market Arts & Craft Fair - a gift for her mum who adores her tiny Yorkshire Terrier. It was quite hard to make this with just a few measurements; I would have liked the dog to have tried it on part-way through, but as she lives in Taiwan that just wasn't possible! My customer has assured me that she'll take a photo of the dog in her funky bright sweater when she visits home next month - I can't wait, I think she'll look fab - I just hope it fits...!

I've also been making lots more spring chicks like this one. I think they're really cute and look great hung from drawer knobs and cupboard doors; they really brighten a room and add a sense of spring cheer. Lots more colours are available in my Folksy shop (or contact me if you'd prefer another combination).

Last week I bought a fab book on amigurumi. The idea for these cute knitted/crocheted soft toys comes from Japan but it's now a worldwide craze - aren't they just gorgeous?! I've been learning the basics this week, and now I'm starting to play around with my own designs. I love these brightly coloured yarns too - another cheery way to brighten your day!

Budding Thoughts in the Spring Garden

The weather was lovely on Sunday - it was relatively mild and the sun was shining - so after a spot of decorating in the morning I took the opportunity to spend a few hours in the garden. The sun went in and the wind picked up about five minutes after I went outside but it was still quite pleasant.

These little chaps were quite entertaining; dashing about picking up the bird nuts and then scurrying off to eat them. I find the mice quite endearing and don't mind them being in the garden. They dig up the odd bulb (and last year scoffed all the strawberrries) but as long as they stay outside that's fine by me; I like the fact that the local wildlife choose to make a home here.

This was the first day that I've spent time in the garden this year and it was lovely. My back was a bit sore that night, and the backs of my legs were aching a bit the next day, but I really enjoyed my time tidying up the garden and filling the recycling bin to bursting point.

I love the expectation that spring brings. We've had a long, cold winter this year so I'm sure that a few plants won't have survived, but the hardy spring beauties are out in force. The primulas are flowering well, and will do so for much of the rest of the year with some dead heading and clearing away of dead leaves. They're not showy, or glamorous, or exotic, but they are the stalwarts of the spring garden and I love their simple cheery blooms.

The snowdrops have been flowering for 6 weeks now, and despite a heavy battering of rain and wind last week their nodding heads still look perfect.

I have a few different varieties of the taller daffodils in the garden that haven't showed their faces yet, but the smaller 'Tete-a-tete' are just coming into flower now. Our garden can get quite blustery so these are perfect; they flower their socks off for weeks and just shrug off even high winds.

After clearing away the old foliage and pruning back the protective winter stems, the garden is looking quite fresh and perky.

Lots of shoots are appearing and new leaves are unfurling, like those on this lupin. I adore lupins; I think they could possibly be my favourite garden flower. I love the different colours (bright or pale, single or bi-colour or iridescent); and the umbrella-like leaf; and the shape of the flower spike and the structure of the individual flowers (Mother Nature is so clever isn't she?)

The buds on the Forsythia are ready to burst. I wonder why most of the flowers in the spring garden are yellow? Any ideas? (Must remember to look that one up some day.)

And finally (with the sun making a brief appearance) is this photo of my Chaenomales. I have no idea of the variety of this flowering quince (I got it from a former colleague in a swap for a pair of new shoes that were too big!), but it has the most gorgeous, rich coral flower. The brick wall isn't a good foil for the flower colour, but as the plant is still in it's pot I hope to find a good spot for it when we move house.

Yes! We plan to move house this year! The sprucing up of the house is nearly finished, the decluttering is well underway, and the tidying of the garden has started - so I reckon by the end of April we should have it on the market. I'm very excited about a new house, and most importantly a new garden, but I shall be sad to let this one go. I have lots of lovely memories of my Dad sitting and chatting in the garden, and of our three cats (all of whom are buried here) but it's time to move on and I'm looking forward to making nice memories in a new patch.

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...