March has been a funny month. It’s had all the seasons and some, and as I saw on Facebook earlier in the week “we’ve had a good winter this spring!” How true is that? I’m hoping that the weather remembers it should be getting warmer soon. Although yesterday was the first time that I’ve got caught in one of the showers, rain, hail or otherwise. It hardly makes sense when looking at the photo below.
As a consequence we’ve done very little gardening. The grass has had its first cut, a week or so ago and it looks better for it. At the rear of the garden the grass needs some work as something’s been digging out there. I don’t think it’s the foxes, but I do need to put a battery in the fox scarer just in case. It’s more likely to be the squirrels. MOH is convinced they dig the lawn just to annoy him, I nod sagely at this point and then more often than not draw his attention to the latest squirrel workforce in the garden. And to think at one point we used to feed them, but no more - maybe that’s why?!
The euphorbias with their lime green fresh ‘flowers’ are in full flow, following shortly behind the ‘elephants ears’ whose cheery pink flowers have all but gone. The euphorbia above has made a dash for a new location, which I’m rather pleased about. It’s alongside the fence which is nearest to the conservatory, and it’s hard to grow anything there as the soil is so poor. So even if I wasn’t happy about it migrating there (and I am) I think I’d have to let it grow for pluck alone.
On the other side of the patio among the jasmine twigs there’s signs of new life for the clematis and the climbing rose, although I think I’m going to have to get brave and prune the clematis this year as all the growth is pretty much at the top of the fence. I learnt how to prune roses last year, so it’s perfectly doable, just a bit scary when you make the cut.
The grape hyacinths have also been and gone, as have the orangey-red flowers of the ornamental quince. We’ve only really enjoyed these through the windows this year, which is a shame.
The hellebores at the end of the garden seem to have a bit more staying power. I had a wander to the greenhouse this last weekend and they were still blushing away in the shy way that only hellebores can. They clearly like where they are and I’m hopeful that there’ll be plenty of new plants for next year too. It’d be good to move some of them to a different part of the garden, but then again they’re thriving here so it’s a case of finding another spot they like. Planting some into a pot, might help find somewhere they like.
The forget-me-nots are starting their annual spring march. They’re not ones to observe boundaries, as you can see from the various bunches below which have already hopped over the border and into the grass. They will have to face the wrath of MOH and the lawnmower, and I don’t fancy their chances. They are pretty flowers, but we have so many that like ivy, these are allowed to be removed at any opportunity.
What does seem to be lasting longer than usual is the forsythia. Ours is still flowering, perhaps not as much as this, but it’s still obviously yellow. I was expecting to be able to cut this already, but the forsythia - and the weather - had other ideas.
This one is due quite a heavy trim. It’s shape is just about still there, and now I have my new ladder there’ll be nothing to stop me. It just needs to stop flowering first. Further down the garden the cherry tree is further along than this photo suggests, but I couldn’t resist sharing the cherry blossom when it’s in its brussels sprout stage.
And don’t mention the impending trim to the forsythia. While I’m sure it knows its coming, what it probably doesn’t know is that all winter it’s been harbouring and shelter my partner in crime.
It’s not all one-sided though, I’m pretty sure the yucca - which is the spikiest of spiky plants - will give me a prod or two as I retrieve the ladder, trim the forsythia and clear up. It’s pretty persistent!
