Spring has POPPED!

We are very lucky to live so close to nature here in the woods, with a relatively big garden. After many years living in cities and craving nature, it's something we'll never take for granted. I love watching spring unfold, so here are my highlights. Some are taken early in the morning before the sun's come up over the trees, when there's a chill in the air. It's lovely.

The cherry tree. Last year we had only a handful of cherries, all of which were eaten by the birds!

One of two espalier apples at the front of the house in the morning sun.

Chaenomeles japonica - amazing colour. I'm going to have to find out how to propagate this one!

Bluebells - under the trampoline!

And the flowering cherry which we planted for C's baby naming ceremony 5 years ago. She enjoyed picking the blossom to make perfumed concoctions and encouraged R to do the same, in their pyjamas! You can see the new playhouse in the background which has already been well used since the weather's warmed up.

A view of the garden after the first rain we've had for a couple of weeks. The silver birch is suddenly in full leaf and everything looks so fresh and lush. Love it.

Worms, water and wheelbarrows

I'm hoping to keep up with the blog again now, because it's so nice to be able to look back and see what we've achieved. Already this season I've been able to do quite a lot, with some help from the girls. They're definitely interested, but still a bit too young to put in the hours required! C has a big thing for worms, and every time she finds one, she steals it to put in her raised bed. We've been talking about compost and manure and leaf mould a lot, and of course watering in new plants. Hosepipes and watering cans always go down well. Wheelbarrow rides are also a big hit!

I had a nice session with R one day too, when we planted her giant pumpkin seeds. She was so excited. She's also loving digging, and filling pots with compost for whoever needs them. C has been trying to pot on her 25 sunflower seedling.

 So we've got lots of things on the go, and I'm trying to do a little bit every day. C and I built our little mini greenhouse which smells like camping :-)

 I love coming across little scenes like this. Someone's been busy cooking some healthy greens for their babies!

Amazing Boxleaf Azara has been filling the air with scent of chocolate, right by the back door, encouraging us out! I bought it for about £7 from Furzey Gardens a couple of years ago and it's been brilliant!

It's quite a big garden and I'm trying to add in a few more shrubs and non-edible plants, just to decrease the workload a little! I've hardly spent any money on plants since moving her five years ago,  apart from the hedge at the front, so an investment of £100 in plants like Magnolia and Weigela has made a big difference. Well, it will when I get them all planted! More pics to follow. Hopefully.

What happened to last year?!

Well blogging clearly fell by the wayside last year! It was an exhausting season but we managed to grow a fair amount of fruit and veg. We even managed some prizes from the Emsworth Show. Unfortunately the Show was a complete washout, but we still enjoyed exhibiting. C collected her prize from Ed, the winner of the Big Allotment Challenge on telly! This was for some of her many pink and purple flowers which seemed to thrive in her raised bed without too much attention.

And I was thrilled to win second prize for my 'Dig for Victory' flower arrangement which brought together all our efforts in one pot. It included pepper, courgette, kale, raspberries, apple, potatoes, kale, herbs as well as leek and potato flowers. I also included salvia tinged with blood red, and buddleia to represent regrowth from the ashes.

My veg didn't get anything, basically because I wasn't allowed to enter the novice categories following the previous year's success. But I just love being in the marquee first thing in the morning, laying everything out and having a nosey at everyone else's offerings before the crowds descend.

I really struggled to find the time and space to keep up with the garden, and I found the whole season quite exhausting and several things went to waste. I didn't even get round to picking the last of the peppers, which were still going in December I think, such an amazingly long season! And it wasn't until March that I ventured out in the cold to pull the last of the leeks. Meanwhile, Pierre the Peacock finished off the kale. We haven't seen him much since then. I must remember to put netting over any brassicas I grow this year!

One major development was the very kind gift of a playhouse from Nana and Grandad, which the girls helped to put up and paint. I know it will make a big different to the time spent in the garden this year, thanks Ma and Da!

The garden had a good hibernation, with a couple of flurries of snow and lots of frost, which killed off the greenfly this year, thank goodness.

By the time the sun started to get warmer, we were ready to start clearing and planning. Seedy Sunday in February was a great reviver, and we all bought lots of seeds.

By the time the crocuses poked through, we were ready and waiting to get stuck in again.