Sunshine

Mucking around

It’s 4pm, Monday afternoon. “Work work” is a distant memory and I am sitting on the couch with limbs in the sun. Dogs are scattered around the house, cooling off after some time outside in the garden. Whilst outside I spent time sorting my seedlings, taking stock of what is working and what is not. The neglected tomato seedlings were put into bigger pots and I set up something I love to have on hand each summer, a pot of basil seedlings. There is nothing better than adding a handful of basil to a salad or to a fresh cherry tomato. I worked out who was still going on the cosmos and scabiosa front. I believe the lack of sun in the last two weeks and me being a bit heavy handed with the watering meant I am going to start again. I love that about gardening, you usually always get a do over. I also have sitting by me a label of the rose that I hope I can find. I planted about 5 new roses in the garden this year and for some reason Pup pup took a dislike to one, Munstead Wood and dug at it until the rose said enough and promptly stopped growing. Elsewhere in the garden, paths are becoming hidden as raspberries are pollinated. It is all buzz and grow.

Before I headed indoors after sorting out my seedlings, I clipped a few twigs of what I image are the last of the white lilac and the first of the scented roses that are starting to flower. I then spent 10 minutes trying to find Senior Airedale. To find a senior and rather deaf Airedale one must repeatedly whistling and calling to him. I thought I had found his trail of mischief but he ended up appearing in a completely different part of the garden with a stupid grin on his face, a smattering of foliage in his fur. He does delighted in his game of hide and seek. He turns 11 this month and as much as I can do with out the hunting round the garden just seeing the delight on his face I know is a memory in the making. For the most part (digging up roses aside) I do love being in the garden with the dogs.

The garden is a joy to be in at the moment, especially after the weeks of unattractive weather that we have had. It is filling in and I have to say as it moves on from the fresh green of early spring I find in myself just generally feeling more settled. It’s like we are both sighing with relief at the place we find ourselves. I finished up my big spring weed and now am delightfully filling in gaps with new plants. I have a couple of online orders coming this week and I definitely want to get in as much as I can into the garden before the end of the month. The sweet peas that I started off as seedlings in Autumn are starting to flower and are much more successful compared to the ones that I started in spring. Dahlias are starting to sprout and I am relieved to see them emerging from the soil as we had a few more frosts this year compared to last so I was a bit worried that I would lose some. I have a few new tubers to add to the collection, including one called ‘Sweet Sanne’ a name shared by a much loved cousin. You can never have too many dahlias right?

The spring bulbs are down to one last tulip which when gone I will let the bulbs die off a bit before replacing with the many zinnias I have sprouting inside. I am looking forward to having a mass of them flowering away. It feels early but the garden is really starting to move with pollinators. First generation bumbles have been seen and the honey bees have been feasting on the borage (white and blue) that is a welcome self seeder in the garden along with the honey wort. I do love seeing a sea of blue in the garden softly moving due to the presence of bees. Poppies are proving popular and my pots are dense with plants. I love seeing what colour poppy is emerging each day. Whilst I am wistful in my description of the garden, it is a delicate balance of management and I still have work to do. Bind weed is appearing and I have to sort out the patio area and the list goes on but for the moment as I sit with limbs in the sun I am just drinking in the delight of it all, and appreciating the work that I have done so far this season. I hope wherever you are you take a moment to do the same.