Cuckoos and Cherry Snow

So very happy to hear our first cuckoo, over towards the Owl Yurt. What a herald of true spring.

Though you would never believe how cold it was today ... four layers and a scarf and a teabreak inside the polytunnel. 

We discovered the five baby robins had fledged. We could hear them with their pipping call to be fed, all around, as we drank our welcome cuppa.

My main task of the morning was to get the first bedding in. It is not quite as straight forward as one would imagine. The chosen space has to be weeded, unfortunately for me riddled with ground elder which has to be teased out. Every tiny piece left will produce a new plant. 

The soil has to be broken down. The bed edges have to be cut and tidied. And only then can you plant. Cornflowers and statice.

The old bread basket is perfect protection.

Otherwise its back to the doctored water bottles which are so useful, held in place by two sticks.

The now neat edge makes such a difference.
Finally a good watering and slug pellets.

The plants look a bit scrappy but they will soon perk up as long as all the safe-guarding holds out. 

Steve planted the last potatoes.

The onions are doing well.

Elsewhere around the garden, the cherry blossom was dropping like huge snowflakes. The pond was covered and even the snug had a scattering inside.

My Mum`s lilac is in flower. All of us have a lilac our gardens from her original tree.
 

The pink and mauve theme is carried on with comfrey and self-seeded aquilegia.

 

My final job was to spruce up the sedum troughs using tiny bits and pieces of plants. I might need some more.

Meanwhile in the gnome garden, a foxglove is aiming to swamp everyone and everything but I cannot bring myself to dig it out.