The ground is covered in a
blanket of white and the branches of the shrubs are laden with snow.
That said, I do love this time of
year, although looking out of the window it is hard to remember why. The days are getting longer and generally
warmer, there have been bees buzzing around the garden, even a butterfly or
two. On warmer days groups of ladybirds have been seen sunning themselves and
the great tits have been checking out the nest box again. Last year the great
tits nested in the box and we managed to see a couple of their fledglings in
the garden. The garden is changing by the
day, buds are forming on the trees and shrubs, perennials are putting on growth
for flowering later in the year and bulbs are now beginning to flower.
You will
see daffodils everywhere this time of year and one place to visit for a
spectacular show is Thorpe Perrow in Bedale. In our garden we just have one
type of narcissi and these flower over a sea of blue anemone blande. Well, I
say a sea, more like puddles at the minute, but they self seed freely and given
time they will multiply and eventually cover the whole bed. In the shady part
of the garden we have clumps of primula vulgaris (native primrose)growing
amongst brunnera macrophilia. We only ever purchased one of each of these
plants, but with division over time they are really bulking up. The primula really come into their own at dusk
and light up the bed with their pale yellow flowers. A couple of the shrubs are
also looking good, with the flowering currant flowering a very vibrant
raspberry pink and the camellia covered in large white blooms.
Unfortunately, as the shrubs and
plants grow, so do the weeds. As mentioned in an earlier blog, when we bought
the house, the garden was a little on the overgrown side and as a result there
are plenty of weed seeds. These lie dormant in the soil until the growing
conditions are right, and some weeds can produce hundreds of seeds per any one
plant. I have a long battle ahead of me, as they say; one year’s seed is seven
years of weed. However, a plant growing in the wrong place can also be
classified as a weed and I tend to steer clear of any plants that can become
invasive and a nucience. That said, I do have some raspberry canes popping up
in the green house that shouldn’t be there! March is generally a busy month
for sowing vegetable seeds and I haven’t got as far with this as I had hoped.
It doesn’t really matter though as there is still plenty of time to get this
done. 
The tomatoes and peppers that were sown last month are now growing
strong, as are the mangetout peas that were sown in root trainers, at the same
time. The early peas that were sown last November have overwintered in the
greenhouse and after being hardened off are now planted in the garden. With the
spell of warm weather these are in flower and hopefully there will be a few
peas to eat in May. In the meantime, the
peas, spring onions and leeks have been sown direct into the ground and the
onion sets have been planted for later in the year. Recently I managed to sow a
couple of courgette seeds in small pots and already these are growing strong,
these will be planted in he garden in late May when the risks of frosts have
passed.
Outside the snow is still falling
and it is hard to believe that in a couple of month’s time the garden will be
full of flowers and vegetables ready for the picking.
