Easter Monday

Today was freezing! Really cold but last week I was determined to get help from 'him' in the garden to move a big table and get various bits and bobs done. I dug over the flower bed and deadheaded everything, the fennel has yet again come back in force. I have to confess to weeding from my deckchair now as the baby bump has become too big to ignore and almost impossible to kneel on the ground!

I also dug in about 80% of the green manure and then covered it with weed fabric to keep the cats off, the last 20% beat me and I just couldn;t bend anymore - frustrating as I was determined but decided to be sensible. Having weeded the garlic very carefully by hand I was really pleased to see that there was 100% germination and the glorious straight green shoots are looking string and healthy despite the continued coolness of the soil. The shallots have also germinated well, unlike the broad beans which are stunted and only two show signs of flowering, I will replace the B beans with runner beans well spaced as soon as possible to get an early crop.

The Japanese Crab Apple, Elstar eating apple and Acer are budding well and amazingly I have some herbs which have survived through the harsh winter - Parsley, Marjoram, Mint and Applemint. I have additionally planted up some Lavender, Bay, Thyme (x2), more Spearmint and a big Sage into the old flower bed where this year I will cultivate flowers and herbs. The vine looks healthy but no shoots yet - still too early.

Out the front the tulips are coming along well, the daffs have barely shown their heads and the myrtle is sufferng from frost bite. One of my tasks this week is to weed the front where I will top dress the myrtle to try and give it a bit of a boost. The Japanese Cherry is coming along beautifully, the flowers come first followed by lime green leaves which turn red to last through th eyear. This year a giant sweet pea (self seeding from 3 years ago) is twined through the Cherry which is a little odd but hey - who cares.

Tomorrow sees me mend the greenhouse with perspex (tools allowing) and hopefully get the first of the beg crops started in the greenhouse. I am concerned however that it is still too cold at night for little plants, even in the greenhouse. I have held back on planting out the potatoes for a similar reason.