March is supposed to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb, but this March feels more like May. It has been a dry and mostly pleasant week, and this weekend has been sunny and warm. Although we had some rain last Sunday, there hasn't been much this month, and hosepipe bans are in the offing (though I don't use a hose except to top up the pond). The cold snap that often comes round here in mid-March didn't materialise, and - remarkably - there have been no strong winds since New Year. While the warm weather is very welcome, especially as it allows me to get outside and do some of the many jobs that need doing, it all feels very odd; and a bit of rain in this dry garden would be very useful.
The mid-season daffodils are in full bloom and look very cheerful. The first of the tulips are in bud; they're a clump of lovely creamy yellow tulips near the house windows, and I always look forward to them. The brunnera is coming out and the erythroniums are also in bud. The big damson at the bottom of the garden is showing its first flowers, while the buds on the plum tree are just starting to show green. More widely out and about, the blackthorn is in bloom and I spotted clumps of white violets alongside the back road out of the village.
One thing mostly missing in the garden this year is crocuses. I think they must have been swamped by the weeds, and I miss them. Memo to self: must plant more, especially my favourites Blue Pearl and Cream Beauty. The Whitewell Purples, planted last autumn, have done quite well, or would have if the pheasant weren't so fond of eating the flowers. The anemone blanda, planted at the same time, are also in bud; I hope he leaves them alone!
The birds' peanut container has been emptying rather quickly recently, and one morning I realised why. The squirrel is back. He was spotted one breakfast-time, hanging upside-down along the container and having his fill. Having just bought a new box of peanuts and having gulped at the price - when did they get so expensive? -, I decided it would be a good economy to buy a squirrel-proof container to replace the old (chewed) one. The blue tits have got the hang of it, but I haven't yet seen any great tits, sparrows or finches on there - perhaps the mesh is too small for them. The woodpecker won't be pleased, but maybe I'll put the old container out from time to time for him!
Sunday 25 March 2012
Wednesday 21 March 2012
February, and March so far ...
February continued as January had ended, with very cold - but mostly dry - weather. There were a couple of snowfalls, but in these parts at least they weren't very significant - an inch or two at most - though ice towards the end of the cold spell did restrict travel for a day. Temperatures down to minus 6C in the daytime saw off the last of the flowers that had lingered on from autumn, and brought the birds into the garden in force. Things started to turn milder by the middle of the month.
We were away from home for the second half of February, and returned on 1 March to a much more springlike garden; the first impression on stepping out of the car was the thrush singing. His mate turned out to be busy nesting in the hedge. The snowdrops were past their best, but the daffodils started coming out after a few days (they're late up here on the windy Wolds), the hellebores were doing well and the bergenia was out. The cowslips are also back in flower. It also means that the weeds are growing!
The first warm(-ish) days came with the second weekend of the month; warm enough for lunch outside on the bench. There's a lot of weeding to be done, but also the winter pruning that was delayed by the cold before we went away. So much to do, so little time ....
The partridges are still around, though now in a smaller group of 8 or so. The pheasant has decided that he owns the garden and I am an interloper that needs to be seen off, so he's being given short shrift when he appears; he has started bringing three lady pheasants with him and clearly doesn't want me around. The warmer weather has brought other signs of spring: the first butterfly of the year (a peacock), and the first bat seen one evening in the village. The most remarkable sighting, though, was up on the main road, where a red kite was hunting along the verge - we've never seen one in Gloucestershire before!
We were away from home for the second half of February, and returned on 1 March to a much more springlike garden; the first impression on stepping out of the car was the thrush singing. His mate turned out to be busy nesting in the hedge. The snowdrops were past their best, but the daffodils started coming out after a few days (they're late up here on the windy Wolds), the hellebores were doing well and the bergenia was out. The cowslips are also back in flower. It also means that the weeds are growing!
The first warm(-ish) days came with the second weekend of the month; warm enough for lunch outside on the bench. There's a lot of weeding to be done, but also the winter pruning that was delayed by the cold before we went away. So much to do, so little time ....
The partridges are still around, though now in a smaller group of 8 or so. The pheasant has decided that he owns the garden and I am an interloper that needs to be seen off, so he's being given short shrift when he appears; he has started bringing three lady pheasants with him and clearly doesn't want me around. The warmer weather has brought other signs of spring: the first butterfly of the year (a peacock), and the first bat seen one evening in the village. The most remarkable sighting, though, was up on the main road, where a red kite was hunting along the verge - we've never seen one in Gloucestershire before!
Sunday 18 March 2012
January, belatedly ....
As a New Year resolution, I thought it would be a good idea to re-start the diary I used to keep of what goes on in the garden - plants, wildlife, weather etc. An even better idea would be to do it online, so that friends and family can read it too. If anybody else out there is interested enough to read on: welcome!
It's taken a little while to get started. I have two-and-a-half months to catch up, so this is the January instalment.
We came back from our New Year travels to find the garden's half-tame pheasant waiting for us at the gate, very put out that no one had been feeding him during our absence. He hadn't much cause for complaint; it had been relatively mild, if windy. In fact the mild autumn meant that there was still quite a lot going on in the garden. The usual suspects were in flower - winter viburnums, winter jasmine, winter honeysuckle - as were the plants that flower sporadically in mild winters such as violas and wallflowers. The earliest snowdrops were already out; not only Galanthus atkinsii, which is always the first to flower, but also G. elwesii. So too was the biggest hellebore (is it H. argutifolius? I can never remember). But there were also other things in unseasonable bloom: some rosebuds (which were realistically never going to open), a few tatty borage flowers, and the cowslips in the lawn, which have been going since October. The wildlife was also thinking it was spring, with a blackbird singing quietly and a little huddle of four ladybirds enjoying the sun.
A few chilly nights saw off the borage and dampened the enthusiasm of the cowslips. The later snowdrops (the doubles, then the singles), and the winter aconites, were out by the middle of the month, but otherwise things were slowed down by the colder weather. The birds came more frequently to the feeders, and the windfall apples attracted not only the blackbirds and fieldfares but regular visits by a green woodpecker. The Garden Birdwatch count this year was good - both the green and gt spotted woodpeckers, and four types of tit including the marsh tit. And the red-legged partridges (common around here, they're bred for shooting) turned up regularly too; one morning we had 22 on the lawn!
It was the last week of the month before we had a real cold spell, with light snowfall on 26 Jan and temperatures below zero in the daytime as well. Much feeding of birds - particularly the pheasant, who considers my only function in life is to supply him with peanuts. Winter at last!
It's taken a little while to get started. I have two-and-a-half months to catch up, so this is the January instalment.
We came back from our New Year travels to find the garden's half-tame pheasant waiting for us at the gate, very put out that no one had been feeding him during our absence. He hadn't much cause for complaint; it had been relatively mild, if windy. In fact the mild autumn meant that there was still quite a lot going on in the garden. The usual suspects were in flower - winter viburnums, winter jasmine, winter honeysuckle - as were the plants that flower sporadically in mild winters such as violas and wallflowers. The earliest snowdrops were already out; not only Galanthus atkinsii, which is always the first to flower, but also G. elwesii. So too was the biggest hellebore (is it H. argutifolius? I can never remember). But there were also other things in unseasonable bloom: some rosebuds (which were realistically never going to open), a few tatty borage flowers, and the cowslips in the lawn, which have been going since October. The wildlife was also thinking it was spring, with a blackbird singing quietly and a little huddle of four ladybirds enjoying the sun.
A few chilly nights saw off the borage and dampened the enthusiasm of the cowslips. The later snowdrops (the doubles, then the singles), and the winter aconites, were out by the middle of the month, but otherwise things were slowed down by the colder weather. The birds came more frequently to the feeders, and the windfall apples attracted not only the blackbirds and fieldfares but regular visits by a green woodpecker. The Garden Birdwatch count this year was good - both the green and gt spotted woodpeckers, and four types of tit including the marsh tit. And the red-legged partridges (common around here, they're bred for shooting) turned up regularly too; one morning we had 22 on the lawn!
It was the last week of the month before we had a real cold spell, with light snowfall on 26 Jan and temperatures below zero in the daytime as well. Much feeding of birds - particularly the pheasant, who considers my only function in life is to supply him with peanuts. Winter at last!
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