March Roundup

Great excitement! Overnight the frogs have done their thing and my pond has beautiful glistening clusters of spawn nestled in the underwater plants. When I went past to open the greenhouse this morning the two paramours were still there so I did not linger. Hopefully there will be more tonight.

After the hard winter and the somewhat late spring the bulbs have been a little disappointing this year. So far there has been no sign of the fabulous parrot feather tulips but here are some pictures of the ones who have been brave enough to poke their heads up.







Ah, lovely.

Is it Spring yet?

What could make anyone happier than a carpet of crocuses? When the sun comes out they open their little heads and drink in the warmth.

Even last year's pansies are joining in.

This little primrose is tiny but so pretty.

But look at this back wall, crowded with tulips. The whole bed is full of tulips of different colours but the ones at the back are all vibrant red.

Long ago across Europe tulip bulbs were so expensive and valued that they were almost used as currency. If that were still the case, I would be very rich indeed!

The beauty of bulbs

When I filled the bulb bed with as many bulbs as I could cram in there, I had loosely planned for a constant display of flowers well into the summer. Saying that, I was kind of expecting that once the tulips had gone that would be it. Look at how wrong I was!






Iris, spraxis, anemonies and lots of others are now starting to flower and giving me a whole new and beautiful display. I've also sprinkled a packet of wild flower seeds for some colour when the bulbs finally finish.

Parrot tulips

I am quite astounded by these tulips. They were from a £2 bag from Wilkinsons that I planted last autumn and just look at the results.

Not only that but these tulip heads are from a single stem each.

How absolutely brilliant is that!

Spring

What a lovely time of year this is. April and May are full of so much promise. The days are getting longer and the mornings earlier and working in the garden is both peaceful and exciting.

The tadpoles have been hatched about a month now and are getting bigger. Soon they will begin to show little legs and will lose the gills that have kept them safely in the water so far. Soon they will turn carnivorous and I have a good supply of bloodworms for them to nibble on. Better that than they nibble on each other!


The newts are still with me although soon they will have laid their eggs and have moved on. At the moment I'm making the most of them while they are here. Photographing them is quite difficult as my camera finds it difficult to focus beneath the water surace so I'm afraid this is the best I can do.


Elsewhere the garden is blooming. The Bog Bean is flowering and the other pond plants are all coming to life after the winter cold. By the side of the pond, my Angelica has suddenly gone into overdrive. At this rate, she will be six foot by the summer!


Lastly, the bulb bed that took me so long to put in last autumn has rewarded my work tenfold. Look at this...


Doesn't that just make you feel glad to be alive.

There now...

wasn't it worth the wait!

Crucuses, spawn and froggie porn...

With all that is there any doubt that spring finally seems to be here.

My morning inspection of the ponds revealed two large patches of frog spawn in the middle of the watercress patch. I would like to say that I acted with great dignity at the wonders of nature. What actually happened was that I jumped up and down with excitement, squeaked a lot and ran indoors for the camera.


And here it is, my first spawn in the new pond. Watching the tadpoles grow over the next few weeks is going to be wonderful and I'll be posting pictures on here when there are new developments.

Casting an eye over the old pond I saw what I thought was one frog but when the rather blurry image was downloaded revealed another underneath.


For those readers with delicate sensibilities, I offer my apologies, but it looks like there will be some spawn very shortly in the old pond too!

Lastly, the crocuses have finally gone for it. Little yellow and purple heads are starting to open.


Elsewhere on the bulb bed, a multitude of different shaped leaves are starting to appear. The nice thing is that I planted so many different types of bulbs that I have no idea now what will come up.

All that and frog spawn too. What could be better?

Crocuses, where art thou?

Still no sign of the crocuses flowering. Mind you, with frost like that who can blame them?

Roll on spring!

I spoke too soon...

... because here it is, the first daffodil of the year.


The compost is icy but this brave little chap is giving it a go.

Isn't it strange how something so small can bring such delight.

Roll on Spring

Is it just me or does this winter seem to have been going on for ever? I've been going out faithfully to break the ice forming on the ponds since well before Christmas now and my car was covered with frost this morning too.

Nature however is made of sterner stuff and the crocuses in my bulb bed are poking their little heads up enthusiastically.



Elsewhere tulips are following suit although there is no sign of activity from the pots with the daffodils in.


These are still to show signs of life although considering the weather, who can blame the little chaps for wanting a lie in!