Rain at last! After several unexpected dry weeks since mid December, we finally got some much needed rain yesterday. Neighbours had been cutting their grass, I had been watering my pots and birds were relying on my bird bath for water. Strange times! Mind you, Iris ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ loved it and has put on a great display which will be brief but much admired.

The Snowdrops I split and replanted last year under the Himalayan Birches have finally appeared, but look a bit lost at the moment. It will be a few years before they colonise the whole area, but one thing us gardeners have in spades is patience!

Cyclamen coum fighting it’s way up through 6″ of bark mulch! The Anemone blanda will be next followed by the narcissus. A gardening ‘guru’ friend told me last week that if I dig around in the bark mulch I will find threads of mycorrhizal fungi which everything else relies on. Not sure if I want to disturb things at the moment but it would be interesting to see. Maybe just a sneaky peek!

My winter pots are finally beginning to show some colour instead of a palette of green. The bulbs are coming up through the pansies and polyanthus so it should be a good show in a few weeks time.

Snowdrops are tough customers. This is my neighbour’s drive which was resurfaced last year. A bit of tarmac won’t stop them!

Sweet Peas pinched out and waiting for warmer weather and longer days. Not all for me though! I now find myself growing them for friends and family. “Well, you’ve got a greenhouse” they say!

I have spent a happy 20 minutes watching Robins and Blue Tits gathering nesting material and going back and forth to my boxes. Far to early for my liking! Seems like everything is a month early this year.

Have a great weekend

David