Tomorrow was indeed another day

After a day in the doldrums on Tuesday, the sun came out yesterday and lifted everyone’s mood. The weather sage (Keith – he looks at the forecast rather than cat pictures on twitter) had predicted this and we had already planned to abandon all cooking and have a takeaway to maximise time outside. It was therefore with a gleeful sense of “no chores” and “everything is possible” that I did my morning rounds of deciding where to start.

All well in the world. The tulips are in flower at the front and the peonies starting to bud. Smelling distinctly of foxes, the fritillaria imperialis are at full height by the pond and look slightly like inquisitive alpaca. My favourite clematis is also flowering on the herb garden seat. It has proved utterly resistant to cuttings so far, but this could be the year….

For once, I selected a more or less achievable chunk to get going on, weeding, digging and mulching the narrow border round the orchard and planting in more of the lavender plants I had grown from cuttings last year. They are teeny tiny, and so it all looks a bit empty, but I am resisting the urge to fill in the space with perennials. I am thinking I might in fill with annual poppies this year – got to be worth a go.

This area was previously all hardy geraniums and, lovely as they are, they tend to totally take over the path in summer and look a bit scrappy in winter. I have kept the geraniums round the corner in the “Avenue of Rankest Subsoil” leading to the top pond as (a) they survive, (b) the are a bugger to get out and (c) one nice old lady visiting the garden a couple of years ago declared them, and the self seeded daisies (which sneak in there from the orchard meadow) “the happiest thing she had seen for years”.

Lunch and a home made ice lolly break followed. Lachlan made pesto with the wild garlic and this made for a cracking sandwich base. The ice lollies are also quite the best thing ever. I feel I was truly inspired when I bought the lolly mould from Lidl (in the random stuff you didn’t know you needed section – which I love) last year. Keith scoffed – but who’s laughing now…Best flavour so far is hyper concentrated blackcurrant (I still have a tub of last year’s in the freezer). I feel I could be more adventurous though, so further updates may follow on this important topic.

Keith had mowed the grass in the hot garden and it looked so much better for the haircut. The Lysimachia (firecracker if anyone is interested) is coming up and the dark velvety burgundy leaves really throw the spring bulbs and primroses into sharp relief. It is definitely worth all the digging out of the colonising shoots for the rest of the year for this effect.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

•