After the rain

After the rain this morning the sun broke through the clouds and this afternoon was inviting me out into the garden. 

I love the way the rain drops stay on the leaves of the ice plants and this tulip leaf.

 The yellow flag iris has come adrift and needs replanting and weighing down again,  but the rain drops look really beautiful on the leaves floating in the water.

Smudge is enjoying the sun on my chair by Ferrero and Roche's water butt. Ferrero and Roche are happier when the sun is shining and has warmed the water and they are much more active than when the sky is cloudy. 

 Finn tries to get me to throw his squeaky toy but I am busy enjoying doing my cross stitch in the sunshine. The stump of the willow tree may look ugly and scarred but now it's cut down the sun can get to this end of the garden all afternoon.

 A multitude of lady birds were enjoying the sun, here are just two of them basking on the giant leaves of the bears britches.

The frog spawn has hatched and lots of tiny tadpoles are enjoying the sunshine as well.

Looking across my back garden at the sunset last night. We get some truly stunning sunsets here and this one heralded a beautiful day today. 

Ferrero and Roche the gold fish have come through the winter well. When the weather was cold and grey they were slow and torpid and didn't eat a lot but when the sun is shining and the weather is warmer they swim around more and come to the surface for food. They seem to prefer the floating plants to the fish food they were fed in the shop. I think that they have doubled in size since I bought them and they are a good deep golden colour. Ferrero has a little black developing on him and Roche has white on his tail. 

Someone else who was enjoying the sun today. 

And a Peacock butterfly was flitting around while I was having my lunch but wouldn't stop for a photo shoot!

I know my willow tree needed cutting back as it was rotten inside but it looks so ugly at the moment. I spent half an hour this afternoon putting up this screen with some bamboo I cut last year. The idea is that the jasmine and clematis will clamber over it and give me some privacy. As it was a lovely sunny afternoon a glass of wine made from the petals of my David Austen rose Lady Emma Hamilton helped the job along nicely

When the willow  looked more like a tree a Dorothy Perkins rose used to climb through it. I hope I can persuade her to clamber over the stump and soften it a bit until it sends out new shoots and starts to look more like a tree again. 

The mountain of wood covering my front lawn is finally reduced to manageable proportions. I have used some of it to make a small area were I've planted some potatoes. They can break up the ground and next year I was thinking of putting some gorgeous smelling old English roses. 

 With the help of my trusty assistant I've used the Buddlea prunings my neighbour shredded for me last year as a pathway around it.

 The plan is to plant it up with chamomile so it smells lovely as I walk on it. I will get some magic back into my garden again!

But all that will have to wait now as I have just had the letter I have been dreading. The council will be coming soon to put cladding round the house as part of the house improvement scheme. I will have hoards of workmen tramping all over the garden. ...

New life, new hope.

At last there is frogspawn. I thought the frogs had abandoned my garden this year. There isn't as much as usual but I haven't found much in the usual places while out walking the fields with Finn. 

The yellow crocus by my back door are in full flower now. I don't actually remember buying yellow ones, I thought they were meant to be a rather unusual two tone cream and pink!

The daffodils along the fence are making a brave show, but others are not doing so well. I suppose I should be grateful for any at all considering the wet winter we have had this year, it's a wonder they haven't all rotted away. 

The elephant's ears are still giving a good show to greet you as you come in the gate.

And I've tried for years to get a flowering current to grow in my garden. At last success!

As I come out of my front door I'm greeted by the scent of these hyacinths to let me know that spring is really here.

In the back garden these primroses are bravely showing their faces before they get swamped by the columbine which will dominate this bed later on.

And the clematis is coming into bud reminding me to hurry up and remake the archway which should be supporting it.

My poor, devastated garden is starting to fight back and will hopefully look like a garden again soon and not a war zone!

signs of spring

At last it feels as though spring is about to spring! 

There are a few brave flowers battling the weather and I actually saw a Peacock butterfly basking in the sun next to the clump of crocus yesterday. It flew off before I could get a photo. 

A quick walk round my garden this morning before the rain started in earnest again showed some glimmers of hope amongst the scenes of devastation. The tulip bulbs are shooting up as are the crocus and daffodils. Also the rose cuttings seem to have survived so far. The kaffir lilies are going over now but the hellebores are just starting. I divided them last year and the babies have survived although they are not as far advanced as their parents. The elephant's ears are in full flower now doing a valiant job diverting attention from the timber yard covering the front lawn. I think it will take the next 10 years to cut all the wood especially if this rain doesn't stop soon, ,electric chain saws and rain do not mix.
In the back garden I have completed the devastation by demolishing the arch which was collapsing under the weight of the clematis. Unfortunately the clematis decided to take the pink jasmine with it so in order to save the clematis  the jasmine had to be sacrificed. I intend to rebuild the archway when the weather permits.
There is a lot of weeding and tidying to do but it is just too wet to do anything yet, it's all very depressing out there at the moment but at least it's not under water like so many houses, gardens and farms are at the moment. My thoughts go out to everyone who has so much more water to worry about at the moment.