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Taking Advantage of the Warm, Sunny Days...

17 comments


It has been so good weatherwise for over a week now, we have been having overnight frosts due to the clear skies but by mid-morning it has been good enough to be outside, without being hampered by a jacket..
I’ve finished pruning my roses, they were still producing a few blooms well into December so none of them had a trim last autumn, luckily we have had a calm winter so none suffered at all by being left, the perennials are all showing new growth so I’ve cut back last years stems, looks so much tidier now, had to be careful where I placed my feet as I have a lot of bulbs planted amongst them but it was good to able to work without gaining a layer of mud on my gardening shoes, was also able to remove the odd weed without disturbing anything else, the hellebores are doing really well this year, still plenty more to open, I do like them as they are so long lasting, it is so good to see all the bulbs beginning to open as well…

Over the weekend I have cut away the dead leaves and stems from the Iris’s in the ponds and had a general clean up in the bottom pond, haven’t tackled the filters in the fishpond yet as the water is too cold, I’m not that keen, lol, good job I did as the warm weather has encouraged the frogs back to the ponds and they are very happy doing what comes naturally..


The mesh is to stop my furry friends from trying to get the frogs, also both Harriet and Brynner are not opposed to stealing the plants, you can imagine what a mess that has created in the past…


Isn’t that in a sorry state , I fell in it a couple of weeks back, alls well apart from a bruised knee thankfully, I scared the life out of myself as well as the poor fish, as you can see I’ve had to pop the canes in to support what remains of the net and keep our fish safe until I can put a new one in place, not an easy job so its waiting until there will be two of us, I’m hanging on hopefully until the spring bulbs have finished rather than tread all over them, I have decided when they have finished that I’m going to remove all of the bulbs and the plants from the back area and give myself a safer area to stand on when I have to maintain the pond plants, cannot be doing with balancing on those edging stones, I’m getting too old to be falling in the pond, funny thing is I already had that plan in my mind, just didn’t get it done quickly enough, lol… you can see the dead leaves of the Iris, it looks better now but I forgot to take a second pic after I’d cut them back, never mind I’m sure you’ll see them when in flower …

The fish are hovering waiting for a feast, every year the same thing happens, they eat the frog spawn, natures way isn’t it….

All in all I enjoyed my weekend in the garden…..

More blog posts by lincslass

Previous post: What not to do in late December...

Next post: Spring brought us a few warm days, time to get busy.....



Comments

 

Wasn't it lovely to get into the garden again. You've a varied selection of nice double Hellebores. I am totally in agreement with having a safe working area around a pond. The edging stones can become unseated and also quite slippery. I slipped on my mini bridge a couple of years ago, so have put chicken netting on its surface. Can't be too careful. Glad you didn't do yourself too much damage.

26 Feb, 2019

 

Thankyou Siris, it was my silly knee, the one I had operated on a few years back, just gives way sometimes which happened on that day, was more of a shock than painful but the thoughts of what could have happened if I'd banged my head doesn't bear thinking of.
I have had some of the Hellebores for donkeys years and they never flowered until I moved them into the sunnier part of my garden, Spritz advised me many years ago not to give up on them, so pleased I listened, always think of her when they start to bloom, now they flower every year so I've been adding to them..

26 Feb, 2019

 

A lovely selection of Hellebores Lincs ,I'm glad you didn't do yourself a much more serious injury we had a friend who fell in her pond she laid in it for ages before her husband found her ,she hurt her hip badly ...

26 Feb, 2019

 

It makes me smile whenever I see a froggy! No sign of any such here at the moment....time will tell. This weather is bizarre but so welcome isn't it. Today I pricked out my tomatoes :)

26 Feb, 2019

 

Those frogs don't look real and what big fish! The weather is a real treat for sure - glad you're okay!

26 Feb, 2019

 

I did giggle a bit with the frogs cute but at the same time reminded me of Yorkshire who was frightened of them. You have some beautiful spring flowers. Silly girl fallen in the pond and hitting your poorly knee becareful as you must know you can get all sorts from pond water. So wise you are going to make it safer footing.

26 Feb, 2019

 

Lovely to see flowers in bloom again ... you have some beautiful Hellebores.

27 Feb, 2019

 

I got a shock when I saw the frog appear amongst your pretty photos. I am not keen on them either even though it is silly of me!!!

I enjoyed your blog as it made me feel as if I was out there helping you!

27 Feb, 2019

 

Amy it took me a long while to manoeuvre myself around and then pull myself out, luckily there is a shelf on that side of the pond, I actually landed on the plants but was frightened they would fall down into the bottom as I moved around, which would have meant me going into the deepest bit, managed to grab hold of the Juniper and then pull myself out, I was very lucky really Amy, your friend obviously wasn't, I think my guardian angel was with me...
I do like Hellebores, like with a lot of plants there are a lot to choose from aren't there, always tempting me...

27 Feb, 2019

 

Karen I'm constantly on the lookout to keep them safe from Brynner, Harriet and Toffee the cat, of course the silly creatures have only one thing on their minds at the moment, means they are determined not to hide themselves, its all good fun here...

27 Feb, 2019

 

Sunnydais hello and welcome to Goy, better late than never, I must read up on your blogs. I agree the frogs are so still at times so they do look like little ornaments, lol, they are very real and we have loads of them, they provide me with lots of entertainment chasing them back into the ponds of which we have two. It's been really nice weather for the last two weeks, s'posed to change tomorrow for us so I've been making the most of it....

27 Feb, 2019

 

Hiya 3d, hope you are keeping well, I remember Yorkie and yes she wasn't keen at all, my late mum was the same, went into a flat spin if she saw one, even more so when they jumped.
I was very silly falling like that, will definitely be changing the back area soon as the bulbs have finished, I actually think it will look nice when I get it done, be a lot easier to manage as well, I have to think of my age and the future now, (sigh) I love springtime and its coming early as regards my flowers....

27 Feb, 2019

 

Hello Shirley, thankyou, I am pleased to say I have achieved my goal to have some flowers to admire all the year round, now whether that will be the same next year remains to be seen, Mother Nature has to decide that, lol..its a good feeling to see everything beginning to open isn't it...
Hoping all is well with you and yours, xx.

27 Feb, 2019

 

W'rose I'm pleased you enjoyed it, I call it armchair gardening..It's not silly at all, my fears are spiders and moths, you don't want to be around me if I spot one, especially those big ones, I go into a flat spin, I love butterflies but they fly away from me not at me, lol.....

27 Feb, 2019

 

PM on the way to you Sue ...

28 Feb, 2019

 

Its been great getting in the garden , hasn't it ! Although you really must be careful as you don't want to hurt that knee !
I love your Hellebores and my purple one which I brought with me is still going strong. I love your frog too Sue! Its a good likeness ! I actually like frogs. When we lived in Willow Cottage, we had many frogs and my granddaughter when she was very young used to lay on her tummy and stroke them.
I am gradually getting this new garden landscaped and hope it stays dry for a bit longer as I have many borders to create and getting the turf up has been hard work due to clay soil and roots from the trees and hedge. I think I have been spoilt with having really good soil in my last gardens !
What is that yellow plant which looks like a poached egg plant?
Just a thought about your knee, Rick wears a supportive knee strap which is a great help for him. Do you think it would help if you wore one when gardening?

28 Feb, 2019

 

oh dear lincs but pleased that your fall didn't incur any injuries [other than pride]. The flowers are looking wonderful. I love frogs, we often have them in the garden but they don't really spend time in the pond nor breed.

love the hellebores, they are so classy.

28 Feb, 2019

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