My garden in March

I am so pleased that last year organised me bought and planted up some pots of bulbs. As this month we’re starting to see them emerge and I’m hopeful that we will soon have tulips to enjoy. I was hoping the local squirrel population wouldn’t disturb my good intentions and had inserted some sticks into each pot to deter them - whether it did or not, I’ve no idea, but the bulbs are growing and it’s good to see.

Looking down onto the new growth of tulip bulbs in a round pot on the patio

As well as plenty of signs of new life throughout the garden, March is also one of those months where there’s also reminders of the jobs to tackle. Alongside our patio the jasmine and the trellis have ‘captured’ several falling leaves and so, we’ll remove those and other leaves which over the winter have provided our plants with some protection. The spots of pink you can see are fallen petals from next door’s camellia and bring a welcome burst of colour, albeit faded in the early part of the month.

fallen leaves caught by the trellis and jasmine on the fence

And not all new growth, is the growth we want - we’ve also plenty of weeds making themselves known. Thankfully though these are easy to remove and are disposed of in our council green bin rather than our own compost bins. But even so, they are making the most of the early spring sun.

a close up of the weeds in a pot

One sure sign that spring is on its way is when our ornamental quince starts to flower, it’s often the first colour in the garden - here you can see its orange flowers, with a few of the yellow carreira flowers, which originally popped over from next door but have stayed.

orange flowers on the ornamental quince

From our kitchen table we’d been able to spot the palest of daffodils as they bobbed about in the sun and the wind. They’re pretty resilient and have lasted a fair while, and I don’t know about you but daffodils are one of the most cheeriest plants I know, whatever the variety. Many years ago we planted hundreds of bulbs and years later they are still rewarding us - at the time I questioned the number of bulbs we bought, but today’s me is ever grateful!

the palest of daffodils in the border enjoying the sun

The other thing about spring is spring cleaning, and our shed was long overdue a sort out. So with the forecast of a dry and sunny spring day, that became our task for the weekend. As it turned out, we’re getting so much better at sorting and tidying that it took us just a few hours and while we still managed to dispose of some of our accumulated junk (technical term there!) most of it went back in, and in a much more ordered and hopefully findable way.

Clearing out the shed - most of the contents are displayed on the grass
Larger items, bikes, tools, ladders and the lawnmower are stored temporarily on the circle and against the still covered patio table

Though I live under no illusion that this will need doing again in a few months time! But at least for now, it’s tidy and MOH can find the things he wants, and there’s somewhere to store our bikes which also makes our conservatory a much nicer space.

looking inside the shed at the three shelving units, which are neater and still have space

So, what’s happening in your garden this month?

Post Comment Love 8-10 April

Welcome to this week’s #PoCoLo - a friendly linky which I co-host with Suzanne, where you can link any blog post published in the last week. We know you’ll find some great posts to read, and maybe some new-to-you blogs too, so do pop over and visit some of the posts linked and share some of that love. If you were here last week it was great to have you along, if you’re new here this week we’re pleased you’re here.

Last week I told you I was having busy a busy week away from my blog and that’s continued. It’s been pretty full on here and I’ve not yet caught up with myself, instead getting further behind. However it’s, I hope, all for good cause - and if you've seen my Instagram stories this week you’ll know why. We’ve been full steam ahead on getting our house ready to put on the market, and ready for an Open House this weekend.

It’s something we’ve been thinking about and thinking it might happen in the not too distant future but after seeing somewhere we liked while we were away, things moved on a pace. The Open House is on Saturday, and dare I say it but now our house is spick and span again, it’s a really lovely house. I mean it’s lovely at any time, but with the pandemic and very few visitors, it was looking more lived in than pristine.

My photo this week is related to the work we’ve been doing, and credit where credit’s due MOH has been fantastic - even working with our neighbour to clean our rooftop skylight, no mean feat when you realise that’s three storeys up. Though truthfully, I think they both enjoyed being up there - there was no way you’d get me up there, let alone on a windy day. And anyway, I wouldn’t have got this phot if I was there too, would I?

Wish us luck and let’s hope someone loves our house as much as we do, and wants to be the ones to live here next.

Looking up to the skylight above our spiral staircase - while it's being cleaned

Before you link up, next week is Easter so we’ll be taking a break and will back on Friday 29 April.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Tropical loos in the City

I’ve realised that the past couple of posts have a bit of a tropical feel to them, and yes, here’s another. I’m not sure what this means - is it that tropical things are having a moment, or am I just being drawn to them? Does that mean I need to head to a jungle, or decorate in the same style? I’m not sure, but I know that the lushness of each of the posts is definitely appealing - and if you scroll back, you’ll see that while there’s the tropical theme, each of the posts are pretty different.

And this one’s different too, after a fair break thanks to the pandemic, I’m back visiting loos. Or rather I’m sharing the well decorated loos with you - these tropical loos were in Browns in Old Jewry, right in the City of London. I was there meeting friends, one of whom I was due to meet a week or so after lockdown and we’ve only just managed it.

As everyone is discovering for themselves, it’s great to start catching up with each other again even though everyone appears more cautious and perhaps a little out of practice.

A row of six white sinks on chrome legs, a black and white geometric floor

These loos are a little unexpected, but were a very pleasant surprise. You’ll know a standard loo won’t feature here, and this is far from a standard loo. It’s a great mix of styles - classic and more modern, geometric and tropical, brass and chrome - and yet it just works.

Above the sinks are rounded square mirrors with glass tube wall lights in between, set on a tropical lush wallpaer

I loved the wallpaper so a close up was in order - though arguably it’s less effective close up, but the birds nestling in the corner worked!

a close up of the plants on the tropical paper
in the corner of the tropical wallpaper, birds nestle

Not convinced it works?

the wallpaper, mirrors, lights, tiles, sinks on legs and flooring

Step back and take the whole view in, I love it - but clearly none of us need that many sinks in our smallest rooms!

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