What Spring brings

Not a fan of cats but yours can't be all bad if the thrushes are landing.
Really like the pic of the lily buds!

It's not my cat Darren it just comes in my garden like all the others to get into next door the grave yard. The Thrushs did nt notice the cat least they would fly off the cat won't attack because I was there to stop it getting closer.
Thank you its an Imperial Fritillaria.

Some lovely flowers 3d. thrushes are such lovely birds Always welcome in our garden.

Thank you Seaburngirl they are lovely birds I watch the Thrush s as much as I can the one perching on the grey pot had some mealy worms first then sat on the bird bath to have a drink then stood guardon the bird bath while the other came down to eat after a while he joined the other.

Ah, you're more tolerant of the furry buggers than me. I saw that Australia put restrictions on cats to protect their native wildlife. Could do with that here?
Really like the thrushes though. Maybe because I live in a really urban area, there's more cats than birds it sometimes seems.

I've never grown Imperial Fritillaria, one of my must try them plants

Not seen many thrushes lately here, used to be regulars, pigeons & blue tits dominate

The second photo of the pale pink camelia is gorgeous along with so many more lovely pictures.

I love to hear the birds singing in the morning at this time of year and the scent of Spring on the air as it hopefully warms up!

Darren I live in a rural village and believe me there seem to be more cats here than when I lived in the city of Hull. we also get farm cats as well as domestic pets through our garden.
GG fritillaria imperialis are lovely bulbs but they do smell a little like fox pee so not ones to be planted close to a seating area. I have the 3 basic colours budding up well. though the lily beetles consider them a nice early meal.

3d I meant to say your crocus have lasted well, mine are over already :o( but they were stunning when they were out.

SB, getting used to fox pee smell, there's one visits my garden, the lily beetles are a pain on my fritillary, the small snakes head ones , I try & scrunch them by some seem to sneak by

I enjoyed the pic of the Daphne - takes me back to my childhood. Can almost smell it from here! Do the greenfinches steal the berries?

I am in a rural area, and the birds have learned to stay away, although my guys have brought down several pigeons. There seems to be a plentiful supply of mice and rats, and I wouldn't want them to be allowed a free run.
I really like the second photo.

I recall Darren when I lived on a farm the farmer killing off most of the cats he could find then wondered later why his place was over run with rats but I hid the remainder of the cats little did he know. I have rats from the grave yard coming in my garden.

Thank you Paul that's a shame you only get pigeons I thought that's all I had here when I first moved in pigeons until I was sitting watching for hours one day.

You ll have to try some Grandad Gardeners shame your Thrushs no longer come I think the pigeons multy ply quicker which I ve noticed and greedy its lovely to have the Blue Tits there.

Thank you Wildrose yes it is lovely to hear the birds singing and would be great to breath in spring air unfortunately we are breaking in poisonous air through traffic.

Thank you Seaburngirl the crocus were taken a few weeks back so not much left of them now.

Thank you Steragram what a lovely memory from your childhood nothing could be nicer to have such memories . The Daphne is nt where I can see it where I sit by the back door watching the birds not to frighten them away so I have nt notice so far who has the berries but I shall watch out for them now.

Yes birds are very clever more than people think they normally spot the cats before I do lol. Yes I have lived on a farm as said to Darren I also get rats coming in my garden being next to a grave yard and right on a nature reserve and can. I would nt hurt any animal even though at times I feel like getting a gun and shooting the pigeons that sit on the grave yard trees that over hang my garden then their muck goes on my path which prevents me going in my garden most of the time as it would get into my wheels and it then would be carried into the house.

I wouldn't hurt the cats, annoying & poopy though they are, these days I just have to rattle the keys in the back door & they leg it pronto☺
I am quite tempted to get one of those remote control air horns though!
Within days of putting up bird feeders in the hope of getting more small birds the magpies have found them. They're just sitting on them, filling their boots the greedy beggars.
Forgot to say how much I liked the photos! Filling the frame with a white rose is technically a bit tricky?

I did nt think you would hurt cats Darren I was saying if you get rats cats keep them down Jack Russell's are better for rats but there is nt any here. I know cats don't like dogs nor a strong lavender or clear bottles filled with water lying side ways on the ground you don't want them to go or putting stick s in gaps.

I've cats one side, dog the other, fox that appears from a bit of waste ground I think, rats are about, squirrels & pigeons by the shed load
But somehow they all seem to get by, semi suburban gardens with trees around. My main problem is the cat poo & squirrels eating bulbs

Daren, filling frame is quite easy, but is camera dependant in some respects, needs a macro setting or lens, plus a bit of cropping "post production"

If you fill any empty spaces cats won't mess in your garden Grandad Gardens they like room to go to the toilet sticking lots of sticks in any empty space will stop them.

You've a lovely selection of Camelias, your second pic is super.

Thank you Siris the second photo was the Camelia my eldest daughter bought me for my birthday some years backm

Thank you Darren it's a Camelia not a white rose.

Gorgeous pics Thrup! Very pretty colours here. Your garden is very colourful, lovely spring blooms! Pretty cat too! We have several cats visiting. Only Toby allowed entry! He’s too cute to refuse, plus our neighbours are friends!
We had a sparrowhawk in the garden for a couple of days there, poor birds, between cats and hawks...they have to be on high alert!
We do get lots of goldfinches and sparrows. Dunnocks,robins, wrens, great tits, blue tits, the odd greenfinch, blackbirds, passing long tailed tits and wood pigeons. I don’t mind the collared doves, but, I do often chase the wood pigeons.
Lucky really as I live close to the city centre, but right next to the river.

You have some lovely plants, those camellia!!!
Trillium looks great too

Ah, camellia thanks. Still a bit of a newbie when it comes to flowers

Love the Thrushes, and the flowers too of course! All those glorious Camellias.
We have lots of birds as we have no cats, only the odd feral kind. Having said that there was a b/w cat strolling up the path the other day, which I saw when I went out to discover what was making the Peacocks hoot and yowl. They hate cats and if they don't chase them away themselves, expect me to do so - which I do.
Lucky you Kate if you only have 'passing pigeons' we have residents, seems like hundreds of them, but the Sparrowhawk seems to prefer pigeon to anything else - more bang for your buck I suppose.
I will post a picture to show just how many collared doves we also have.

Thank you Kate yes a variety of birds will congregate where there is water close by and the food is there a nice variety you have there.

Thank you Dawn I ve got Surrey Lad to thank for the Trillium.

Lol Darren you will soon learn which flowers on here.
😊

Thank you Honeysuckle your so lucky to see feral cats I love them last time I seen a lot of them was on Brandon Farm. Yes Peacocks don't half squawk don't they we have some that run free on a small farm by me.

A lovely blog 3d, you have a lovely garden, I do like your Camellia's, a very nice selection,must get a lot of joy seeing all the spring blossom and flowers, lots of birds here also, eating me out of house and home, I like to watch them collecting their bits and bobs for their nests, we do still have a cat but he is not very quick, seems content to watch and look threateningly at them, he has learnt that if he stalks then I shout, lol....

So. Any lovely Camellias! Gorgeous kitty too!

Thank you Lincslass yes I love to see colour as my garden is acidic Camelia's suit the earth I have. Lol at least they are earning their food by entertain you I find it fascinating and at the same time relaxing to watch them. Do they take your matting out the hanging baskets like they do mine. Your cat reminds me of Bench cat that use to lay on the bench with one eye open watching the rats scurry by I suppose like us human they are not as quick and energetic with age.

Thank you Karen yes the cat is lovely who ever it belongs to.

I'm learning loads here Thrup! I was a bit of a blokey veg gardener before but I'm really enjoying planning the flowering plants these days, trying for a bit of colour all year round, etc. Hoping for something as photogenic as your garden eventually, plants are definitely nature's supermodels☺
I just joined a gardening community group locally too. They do street planters, tidying up & weeding without herbicides, things to make a rundown urban area a bit nicer

I am so glad to hear your learning Darren . You can grow both veg and flowers and use complementary gardening. I use to have two allotments in the late 80s so I learned from my mum with flowers and veg from the other male allotment holders.
The pot where the cat is sitting next to in the photo is an apple tree I also recently got another gooseberry which the last one got stripped by sawfly and a new Blueberry.

Just check what kind of soil you have to suit the flowers or shrubs and if they like shade or sun early morning or woodland types shade or dapple shade. Best to mimic its natural place of origin.

That's wonderful you ve joined a gardening community some thing I ve always wanted to start here locally when I first moved in here, 20 years ago but I ve heard they already have one but no one bothers with it even now.
It's good to hear your your garden community is saving run down areas and will make a great difference to people's lives just looking at some thing nice even if they don't join in . Great to they are not using pesticides as well. 👍

My gooseberry is looking really well this year, I'll keep a look out for sawfly. I've got a windy, side alley that gets a bit of light & will definitely need some compost to make a growing space but I was thinking a blackberry might work there. Always think blackberries are a bit neglected as a garden plant.
It's nice the community garden thing, people bring their kids & dogs, jobs get done, tea drunk. Even if it's not appreciated it's worth the bother

That's great do you thin it out to let air through it?
Yes that sounds a good place to put a Blackberry you now can get a thornless Blackberry not sure if they are as tasty as the normal Blackberry. I don't see many people growing them yet I love them nor black currents nor red currents which you never see any one growing down here.

It's good to get the kids involved you could all do a barbque to with your cups of tea the kids would like that and the dogs lol. At least you are meeting people yes defiently worth doing it.

Gooseberry needs to grow a bit before I need to prune it, I'm just glad I saved it, thought it was a goner. I was thinking just keep my eyes open & take some cuttings locally for the blackberry.
I'm still kicking myself that on a big weed clearing job a few years back, I was picking blackberries to eat & found some big, clean fruit that tasted like a blackberry/strawberry cross. I might've made a few quid if I'd taken cuttings...

Yes I recall you saving it now you have reminded me I think its the second year of fruiting you prune it to a bowl shape thinning out centre branches.

Those berries you found and ate sound like Logan berries my grancher (grandad) use to grow them.

D8, I grow blackberries, two thornless ones, Merton Thornless & Thorn Free
These days you will find Thorn Free as the standard offering in likes of Wilko, Lild etc

I prefer the Merton for taste and vigour but that could be just the position I've planted it

I found a large, tasty & vigorous b/berry and planted a rooted branch of it on a bit of waste ground near my garage, ideal for stopping kids climbing & a provider of yummy berries. Vicious thorns though, no good for an alley or near a path

Wow... stunning pics, 3d...
especially the blossom ... superb !

Darren, I discovered last year that gooseberry sawfly overwinter as grubs in the soil under the bush. So I am trying putting black polythene over the soil there to see if it will foil the blighters. Must remember to water it if necessary though!

Thank you Terratoonie 😊

Just found your page Thrupenny! What a lovely display of Spring flowers you have. Was that the front of your house in the picture ? I have to decide what to do with our front way in this new garden and am considering an arch over the gate.

Thank you Rose no that's a part of my back garden I ve hardly got a front garden. . Yes an arch would be lovely over your front gate go for it.