Snowdrops!

I went outside earlier to hang the washing out - admittedly only because Alastair asked me to give him a hand, it's still rather cold for me to be venturing outside unprovoked - and it was a beautiful spring day.  Blue sky, sunshine, birds tweeting...and snowdrops!  Two tiny clumps have appeared totally spontaneously in my flower bed.  I am very excited. 

As you can see, I have a scruffy winter flower-bed.  Who didn't prune her buddleija and get rid of her annuals when she should have done?!

There are signs of life everywhere in the garden....

...but I am wondering when the bulbs I planted in the back end are going to come through.  August maybe?!

On 'Tates

The most exciting thing we grew in the garden last year, by quite some way, were the 'tates. 

To digress slightly, the cosmos were pretty exciting too, as I got a packet free with Gardens Illustrated and sprinkled them on a patch of earth in the garden, never thinking that they would grow (I seem to have an inability to accept the facts the seeds I plant do, actually, grow), and they were beautiful.  I don't think I've got a photo of mine, but this is what they looked like. 

Next spring I'm going to sow loads of seeds and hopefully grow beautiful clouds of them.

Anyway, back to the 'tates.  I like to think that I found them exciting because I come from a long line of Lincolnshire farm labourers.  Having lain dormant for 35 years, the hereditary compulsion to grow 'tates awoke last spring and could not be denied.

I was actually very surprised that they grew, as it was late in the spring and almost past the time for planting 'tates (I leave most things 'til the last minute where the garden is concerned).  A ferret in a Sainsbury's Homebase bargain bin had yielded some reduced and very well-chitted seed 'tates for the princely sum of 50p and that weekend I dug and planted three rows. 

Alastair kept them earthed up, and we had a fantastic yield.  Two big sacks, and they tasted fantastic.

Conifers

There isn't much to do by way of planting at the moment (this was earlier in February, just before it snowed), so we made a start on clearing the conifers between our garden and Yvonne's garden.

Or, to be strictly accurate, Alastair and John did.

 I helped by carrying branches to the trailer.

We are planning to replace the conifers with edible hedging (Dad's idea) which we hope will encourage wildlife.

Readers should know that we have great plans for our garden, but are not so good at getting around to doing things.  Alastair is very good, but I grumble if he does things without me as I like to be involved in new projects, and I tend to be very tired at the weekends and to spend far too much time sleeping.  One of the reasons for setting up this blog is to encourage me to do things in the garden!

As it wasn't a nice day, there was no feline assistance with our conifering.

Our Garden

It is surprisingly difficult to think what to write when you are faced with a blank computer screen, not to mention the paralysing knowledge that ANYONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD could look at what you have written.  Not that I think many people will be interested in my gardening blog, but still.  

Anyway, I have just written my third post and find myself becoming rather more eloquent, so I am re-writing this, my first post.  I introduced my garden for the first time by saying "our garden is a small, scruffy garden in County Durham, England".  And indeed it is.  I would love to be one of those people who have that knack for making their homes and gardens look polished and beautiful, but alas, I lack any kind of aesthetic sense and/or design ability whatsoever with the result that our garden is rather haphazardly landscaped.  And our lawn is an evil, weed strewn waste...grr.

You can see some photos of my flower garden on my facebook page- you'll see what I mean.  However, I love pottering about in my garden (when it's warm, I am a warm-weather gardener and whimper, whinge and sulk if forced outside in the cold) and love the beauty of flowers and the excitement of growing and eating veg.

We share our garden with various furry, prickly and feathery residents. 

Here are some of the things that we grew last year.