February Blues Sent Packing......

What a joy it is to see you back in action Sue!
Yesterday was a grand day for weeding here too - shifted two barrowloads and was shattered by lunch time!

A blog to give us hope, pleasure and encouragement that spring really is just around the corner!

I was out on my knees today weeding and clearing but I need a new 'kneeler,' mine has lost its stuffing I think!! I ended up with two very damp and dirty knees!

Great blog and great to see blue skies and beautiful plants. Sadly up here it's back to gusty winds and driving rain. Hey -ho

Glad you managed to get out it was a lovely sunny day. I took Lottie for a walk around the garden but it was a slow walk and we soon got cold . Hope it is as nice again tomorrow I have no childminding tomorrow and would love to be able to get into the remaining borders which are yet to be tackled. Lovely pictures and everything is so pretty. :0)

I hope the weather's nice for you tomorrow Sue, so that you can get on with your plans.
It was lovely to see your photos with everything doing so well. I enjoy a mild winter. There's always something interesting to see in the garden.
Guess what I enjoyed seeing most - the succulents ! No prizes for guessing that lol :D Don't they look flourishing. I am pleased for you.
Now I have also lost Heucheras to Vine Weevils. They seem to target those, and also Primulas. I always put Heucheras in the ground now, even small ones.
I haven't sown any seeds yet either. I don't want them coming up too soon because I haven't got anywhere to keep them. I like to put them outside as soon as I can.
I'm glad to see the Prunus you planted in memory of your mum is flowering nicely for you :o)

No need to feel guilty about the housework, enjoy the fresh air. A bit of sun and it is all too tempting to start sowing seeds, then the green house become stacked with etiolated seedlings because it's still to cold to put them outside.

Thankyou all, I picked the right day as rain and the cold has stopped play, might get down to the g'houses but thats about all, armchair gardening it is then, thats ok except my wishlist grows.......

it's all look fab Lincs...glad you caught the heuchera just in time..i hate the evil weevil...I have squished a few this week. I have set my tomato seeds this week but I will wait a while before i plant anything else.

Well your garden is looking good I to lost a heucheras to the dreded weevil the joys of gardening :-)

I know how you feel Lincslass. I seem to have been tidying the garden for weeks. It goes on and on and then I have so much stuff to bad and bin. Exhausting! It looks good tho'. :0)

Hi Sue! What a beautiful early flowering Cherry that is! I'm afraid i've succumbed to my usual February routine...the one I say every year I'm not going to do again...and sowed heaps of seed! The first to germinate were Cerinthe and Ammi. Bu they were in the heated propagator. I've also sowed loads of hardy perennials..I expect I shant see anything for months, but hey ho, it gave me something constructive to do! :) like you, I've started sharing plants, bulbs and seed with daughter for her new garden, which is lovely and adds a new dimension for my gardening. Actually she has a nice Pulmonaria in flower in her garden which made me think I should get one or two for here! Take it steady now! :)

This time of year I look at my garden ravaged by winter and I wonder how I will ever get it back together but then I realize that for the little part I play, nature does most of the work... At least I keep telling myself that. Lincs,your saying "blow the housework" tells me that you're feeling a heck of alot better and I am very glad to hear and see it.

I'm with you 100% Sue, nothing keeps like housework. When the sun shines what better place is there to be than in the garden? I'm so glad you're making the most of it. The dreaded vine weevil has been active in my pots too, so I've resorted to the drench. Ah well,spring is in the air at last yippee!

We had a real sparkler of a day today. It was far too cold to garden, but boy did I enjoy my country park walk! :)

Your garden is full of Spring cheer and promise Sue, love the Clem...I must plant one for next winter. So much going on and your greenhouse full of interest...love it! It's been a beautiful day here today and not too cold either, my overgrown ivy is shouting out to be pruned.....maybe this weekend...maybe not....:))

Yes Janey..must agree about that clematis. It always grieves me that they don't flower this far north.

Karen I started adding more perennials a few years back, it makes life so much easier and there are some real beauties to choose from, they have been really good for my peace of mind in the last few years, once they fill out they can hide a multitude of sins if one cannot spend hours taking care of the garden for any reason, as you know I don't do gaps..
I did pop some Sweetpeas in today, after yesterdays rain the actual garden itself was a big nogo yet again, my intention was to make a start sorting out the bottom g'house but Juliet asked me to take a trip out to a local Water Reserve with her, it was great out there although we were slipping and sliding on the mud, I forgot my wellies and had to travel home with a plastic bag over my boots, lol, took some lovely photographs though....

Hmm..We slipped and slid around the Country Park on the ice! But it was beautiful though. Yes, perennials are so much better aren't they?! :)

Thankyou Sandra, no toms going in here yet for a while but I can understand you making a start with the amount you grow......................................................................
K'gran my language was terrible when I turned the pot upside down, I still have to checkout my others but at least they didn't lift up when I gave them a tug and they aren't showing the signs of wilting, I hate disturbing planters at this time of the year..................................
Linda I have a love/hate relationship with my Weeping Willow and all the twigs and branches I've had to clear up this winter are not helping the situation, you are right though its a great feeling when it looks tidy again ............

Thankyou L'strife, I am doing very well, have to be careful with some things but its really just having to use my commonsense, last year is done and dusted and can be shoved away in the drawer with all the paperwork, lol.
I did fret last summer and autumn when I couldn't do some of my usual jobs but it was daft because the garden really hasn't suffered, as you say Mother Nature takes care of her own, we gardeners just like to think its us...As to the housework part, I'm afraid it does play second fiddle if the weather is good, I tell my family if they don't like to see the dust they know where I keep my polish/dusters and suchlike.....How are you doing now, did your bones heal well , I remember you were also in the wars a while back.......

Yes!!! You remember my famous Easter Bunny Hop...aka..tumble down the stairs in my home which resulted in a broken arm last Easter Sunday morning. After several attempts at resetting it they finally settled the matter with surgery. The bone healed well but I had some ligament damage in my hand which resulted in my not being able to extend two of my fingers all the way out. Good fortune has it that my middle finger was not affected so I am still able to express myself to others in certain situations:/ Otherwise I am fit as a fiddle considering that I am as old as a Stradivarius:)

Alol Loosrtife! Just picturing that middle finger! :)

Well, I can still do the Spock Vulcan Salute with the other hand which I will do now and to all GOY members I say....Live Long And Prosper!!!

We can always find a way to express ourselves if needs must, lol, good to hear you are keeping well otherwise, our bones and joints don't bounce well as they used to, its our minds won't accept that, I want to carry on as usual and then wonder why it aches afterwards, my old mum used to say "If something hurts after a stint in the garden, go out and do it again and work it out of your system"

Homebird I didn't show a pic of my other g'house, its a tip and storage space at the moment, last years apples are spread on the shelves, only fit for bird food as its its been too mild a winter for storing them properly, the housewill come back into use about April time when I need more space, its been such a mild winter I haven't even used it to protect my larger tubs and pots.....

Janey that clematis is lovely but be warned its a thug, has to be cut back regularly as it loves to scramble into the apple tree, I'd be tempted to use the birds as an excuse to leave the ivy until after nesting time, thats a job for a warm sunny day, you know the ones I mean a proper summers day when its too nice to be indoors.....

Waddy its so good to be back in the garden, I tell myself I'm easing myself back into the housework, thats my story and I'm sticking to it, LOL....

Its great to have a few hours in the sun, isn't it Sue and I'm glad to see you are wearing the gardening gloves ! I don't like wearing them, but if I cut myself, the alternative is far worse !
Your garden is looking very spring like ! I don't have many bulbs showing through yet, but that could be because I forgot to plant them ! It was almost December when they all went in !
I'm pleased you are feeling better !

I'm being very careful Rose, had all the lectures and took them on board, I do find I get bruises easier even wearing my gloves.
I found some tulips in a box the other day so I popped them in, things are so confused because of the weather so figured they won't notice, lol, I was working in the garden today and would you believe I spotted some gladioli already poking through, its going to be an interesting gardening year...How is your hubby doing?

Oh I like that excuse Sue, I must remember it! I spent the last two days attacking the very overgrown ivy in my neighbours garden. I've now rediscover the wall behind it. I've dug over their soon to become veggie patch and rescued a whole bed of Helebores from a mountain of weeds. Today it's rained and I ache in joints I didn't know I had, but I'm itching to get back out there. If it's raining tomorrow I think I'm going to sow some seeds in the green house...did someone mentioned housework?

I don't mind thugs Sue when they are the Cirrhosis Clem, they obviously like a good drink too....:)). A girl like me Waddy! I spent one day last week hacking the ivy, that was enough for now, I've taken to sawing through the main stems halfway down the wall, I shall enjoy pulling the top stems away in a few weeks time...only hope the wall stays put.....:-\

He's doing great Sue . Thanks for asking. Now we just have to hope his PSA level stays low !
Do you know...now that you've mentioned bruising easier, its made me realise that this happens to me ! I just thought it was because I'm getting older ! lol

Thats good Rose, fingers xx for him, we do tend to blame our age don't we, I have always bruised quite easily anyway but now I only have to brush against something and I have marks within minutes....

I've enjoyed reading this blog and all the comments. I too have found those little devils in one of my favourite heucheras (I fed them to the birds) and now do the 'tug test' as I walk round the garden when I can. Is your clematis 'Freckles', Lincslass? I put one in several years ago and finally had 2 or 3 flowers on it this year. I planted a second on last year and it has put on lots if growth but, again, only a couple of flowers. What am I doing wrong?

Lucky you. First, I envy the spring look. Second, I envy your greenhouse, and lastly love all the photos. Now, I am going to look at them again. I don;t believe you have so many plants in bloom, heaven. We have one inch of Daffs up, and that is it. Some moron has removed my two white lilacs, I guess thinking they were sticks. Helpful, NO. I always have a full blown vision even if things look like sticks or just straw. The idea is half the fun? You look like you are in total control!

Lovely spring blog, cheered me up no end. I was wondering as well which your winter flowering clematis is, my guess is a Clematis cirrhosa maybe Calycina? I am curious as I'm thinking of getting one. I wondered how yours fared during the storms this winter, plenty of lovely flowers so it can't have suffered too much, but maybe it is in a sheltered position?

Sorry I'm late getting back to this, I think the name of the Clematis is Cirrhosa Ourika Valley, its not really sheltered but I doubt anything would destroy it, its a rapid grower
every year I have to prune it back off the appletree before it takes over. It took a long time in the ground before producing any flowers, 4/5yrs....

Thanks Lincslass, I'll look into it, it has to be tough to withstand the storms up here and I probably shouldn't have a clematis at all but I think I'll risk it and give it a try.