A SPRING IN MY STEP!

A little bare, but tidy and hopeful!

Tulips pushing through

More bulbs on the way - and celandines - yes I know they are theoretically a weed/wild flower, 

but in my garden most things are welcome as long as they are pretty - 

and these will be sun on the ground!

Yesterday was Super Sunday - just really because the sun shone, the sky was just a vivid blue and I had my first foray of the year into the garden - and I had great company - 2 Red Kites soaring overhead - round and round and so low - and calling to each other - the sound that spells summer.

I know I mustn't get ahead of myself and the forecast for later in the week is very cold again - 3 degrees on Thursday and Friday and with wind chill - -3 degrees!  OK so we are not thinking about that at the moment!

However, my little courtyard garden was brushed and swept and tidied of things which had accumulated through the winter - new bag of potting compost deposited in its permanent home under the brick barbecue -  very handy, dry and hidden, leaves all swept up and deposited back where they came from - under the trees in the lane, the last of the dead wood taken off the peonies, and the chairs arranged in a friendly manner in case it comes warm enough for a cup of coffee outside!

As I'm sitting here at my computer now, the Red Kites are calling again - heaven  !!!

Ironing? - Time in the Garden? - Tough Choice!

As my title suggests, I did intend to do some ironing, but having wandered into the garden to eat breakfast, surprisingly - the garden won!  Not actually to weed, dig etc., but to brush down and sweep up etc., and this is the result:

As you can see it is 'bijou', more like an outside room which we use loads, but it is south-west facing and I love it!

Here below a few close ups:

Aubretia + Honeysuckle and Lavender on the way.

Clematis

Climbing Hydrangea - can never remember the real name - can anyone tell me?

Blowsy, beautiful Peonies - correct spelling ??

Self-set Honeysuckle in the lane - clever eh? and it has loads of flowers coming!

Cow Parsley in the lane + a little more Honeysuckle on its way!

And last but not least for today - a view from my bench where I knit, sew, drink cups of tea and coffee and enjoy the odd glass of wine.

Happy Summer  !

Garden Pottering

Now don't laugh - in between the rain at the end of last week, I cleaned out and potted up my pots!  I hope to show you these again when the large blue one is full of poppies, and the smaller one is full of night scented stock!

This one is cornflowers - and the stool is very precious to me.  My Dad who died several years ago now, suffered from Multiple Sclerosis for almost 40 years and before he became totally wheelchair bound, he used to cook meals and this is the stool he sat on to peel potatoes, chop veg, make pastry etc., as he couldn't keep himself upright when standing.  It resided in the garage for a long time, before I resurrected it and painted it blue for the garden - he loved his garden too and it is a lovely reminder of him.

The Acer which lived in a pot for about 8 years was put into the garden the summer before last and it seems to be thriving, even if growing a little lopsided!

The bluebells are really bright and cheery and hopefully the deep red peonies will burst forth soon - I will show you when they do!

My garden is of the small courtyard variety and rather jumbly, but it gets lots of sun to sit in (when it shines) and I love it!

Have a good week.