What a change the last week has brought us from snow and freezing temperatures and biting winds to sunny and mild days which are to continue for the next 10 days or more with the night temperatures from this coming Sunday to Tuesday dropping to 2 or 1 C degrees and moderate winds.
We certainly have had strong, gusty and cold winds, the mini Beast from the East, bringing down dead wood in both the mature and young woodland, even plastic bags and polystyrene found their way into the garden! Sadly a number of shrubs especially Hebes and Hypericums have suffered badly and only time will tell if they will recover, even the roses look very unhappy! Being an optimist and believing in nature’s survival of continuity, things will recover!
We have pruned and shaped our Viburnum and Buddleias globosa and x weyeriana. The Buddleias of Black Knight, the mauves, the whites and the pinks will get their more severe pruning towards the end of March. The Hawthorn, our native species and Cotoneaster hedges have had a cut before the birds think of nesting. The winter heathers too have had a trim.
Our feathered friends, the birds, are still very grateful for the feed we put out for them, although the demand on apples has tapered off a bit. With the birdsong around us I have started cutting back the flower borders and am delighted to see a number of Ladybirds resting among the dried up leaves!
Meanwhile David has turned the dung and ryegrass into the potato bed ready for planting our tatties later in March.
Work in our ruin in conjunction with building the stone tower is taking its time, there is a lot of excavation of earth, stones and big rocks to deal with, the bigger stones end up in the middle while the smaller stones get packed nearer the outside of the stone tower. The big boulders with at least two flat sides are placed on the outside wall and the more rounded rocks are swallowed up inside the tower.
Sowing of seeds has also started and it is always a little miracle of hope when seedlings unfurl and a new beginning of a plant starts its development and you cannot but smile at every emerging seedling! The same can be said about the Snowdrops here and there which is a joy to see, enjoy your garden as it opens up to the Spring!
