SPRING

[oldherbaceous]

Britains really did do some lovely garden and farm scenes, are they your own Clive?

[Clive.]

Hello Old H',

Yes, they are mine.... I had replied to a posting on the vintage horticultural & garden machinery club forum and a forum member asked if I could post a photo of the little Atco mower...so once I had found the shoebox with all the bits heaped in ... I quickly set up the garden scene and used Mums new fangle reading light low over it to add the sunshine...and took the photos.

I nearly fell in the pond whilst taking the photos.. ....You can see that I had to perch on the rocks at the pondside to get the right camera angle..

Clive.

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Clive, i've never really thought about photography being a dangerous hobby before, please be careful.

[Clive.]

Yesterday and Wednesday were a bit more Spring like. Up above the Buzzards were out soaring and performing....

As I dug in the vegetable garden it was drying on the top...

Not today.....

...and I got caught out by two heavy snow showers...one in the morning and again afternoon...away from any shelter.
The afternoon one was I reckon accompanied by a single clap of thunder...and wickedly cold windy...

There was snow on lawns and hedges when I left work..but dry roads at home here...
31.8F showing on the weather station....

Clive.

[alan refail]

First crocus open in a bit of warm sunshine.

[Primrose]

It should have been a joyous Spring morning here but sadly I found four dead frogs floating on the surface of the water in the sink pond beside my vegetable patch and I've no idea what killed them. There was no wildlife in it about four days ago so they could only very recently have emerged from hibernation.

I spent a sunny hour digging in the garden earlier today. First time the ground has been firm enough to walk on and it was lovely to get some fresh air in my lungs but I can feel myself stiffening up already!

[Johnboy]

My Helibore Orientalis, which are normally out before Christmas, put in an appearance yesterday and are very badly depleted. There are 6 blooms and last year I would think more than 60. That has bloomed in December for more than 30 years.
The Snowdrops have been flowering just in the ground for a week or so and yesterday they started to rise out of the ground. I have got literally thousands of them around the plot. Here they spread like weeds and I keep digging them out of the middle of the lawn year after year but they always come back. They obviously drop their seed before I get around to digging the clumps out. This year I am going to dig them out whilst still in flower. (I would lay good money that I forget!)
JB.

[glallotments]

Our heelobores haven't flowered yet either and the snowdrops buds haven't 'bent over' yet in the garden. On the plot one or two snowdrops which were in a patch of sunlightunder the fruit trees have drooping buds. No crocus flowers yet!

We spent a few hours yesterday afternoon at the plot too - it was quite pleasant in the sunshine but very cold when in dropped in the sky. Gave the plums a winter wash and cut down the autumn reaspberries and bad was a bit achy. It's amazing how quickly you get unused to the physical effort!

[alan refail]

Very cheering to see the sun still shining well after five yesterday

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Alan, whilst watching the weather report last night, it does seem you at Little Barbados are in for some long bright days, while a lot of the rest of us are under cloud.

Life can seem so unfair at times.

[alan refail]

Afternoon OH

It might look like Barbados, but it sure don't feel like it - icy north wind

[oldherbaceous]

Maybe tomorrow will bring more of a Caribbean feel Alan.

[Clive.]

Slightly frosty start but lovely sunny with blue sky today,...'cept for one sharp icy shower early this afternoon....

We had a trip over to our two fields out towards the coast...the first time we had been down there since late October
A few miles away the North Sea sounded to be in a rough state and wasn't half making some noise..

We got some hedge trimmings from October "processed"..and some more produced courtesy of much work for the Stihl hedgetrimmer...and its operator. ..all now ready for visit of tractor and flail to do the higher hedges...in the next few days..

So suddenly we seem to have caught up a bit.....but as usual get one bit sorted and you can see more that can be improved on........

One thing that is ready for some attention...thinking towards Spring and Pea sowing time...are some lovely Ash sticks just right size to be cut and bundled.

The Snowdrops under the top hedge and dyke banks are still pushing through....just enough to show some white buds.

At home here we have a couple of Hellebores just about in flower and also I spotted this morning a little Gold Lace Primula in flower in the front garden.

Clive.

[oldherbaceous]

Evening Clive, our Snowdrops seem to be a little ahead of yours this year.
Both the Snowdrops and also the Aconites are starting to come to their best now, it is nice to see them flowering tgether, they really do set each other of rather well.

You're lucky to have Ash sticks for cutting, Clive, as i find these always last longer than the more traditional Hazel sticks.

And i've never thought of you as the landed Gentry Clive.

[Clive.]

Hello Old H',

Perhaps the photos make the fields look bigger than they actually are.
...landed gentry. ..I am but a simple Stihl hedgetrimmer driver.

I should add that the Snowdrops at work are more forward...so about ready for the Snowdrop walk next Wednesday. Did the weather forecast you saw suggest some decent Spring like weather for then.?? I hope so.!!

Those in the South of the grounds are about coming to their best..and with Aconites too.. whilst in the Churchyard the double Snowdrops are a bit short stemmed still.

The Aconites were on the go at the same time last year....but then we were wanting the Snowdrops to slow down a bit...as the South garden ones were just starting to go over on the day...

Meanwhile, we do have one small clump of Snowdrops that flower in November.
...they look the genuine article...but variety.??

Clive.