The hike in temperature from minus seven to plus twenty degrees within the space of a week has been dizzying; one minute it was all thermal base layers and double welly socks, the next we were stripped down to t-shirts in the garden. The air is full of birdsong, hazel pollen and the hum of insects – industrious honey bees, fat velvety bumbles, shiny blue-black carpenter bees and huge buttery brimstone butterflies – as though everything has suddenly woken up and stretched after the long, dark days of winter, lifting grateful faces and hearts towards the kiss of the sun. Me, too. It’s a very joyful thing.
We have needed no persuading to spend all day, every day, outside and it has been a wonderful feeling to be able to make so much progress in the garden at this time of year, not to mention being able to eat our lunch and enjoy an afternoon mug of coffee or evening glass of wine outdoors. In fact, we are so busy that I really don’t have time to blog so please accept photos with captions this time, rather than my usual waffle!
We have uncovered the solar heating system, not the prettiest piece of kit but the tanks of free hot water are great. I’ve planted window boxes, pots and baskets with pansies for a cheerful splash of colour at the front of the house.As our tractor and mower are stuck in Asturias for the forseeable future, we have bought a push lawnmower and cut a few patches and paths. Most of the grass will be meadow this summer which suits us and the wildlife just fine!We enjoyed a 7-mile circular walk on local lanes, stopping for a picnic in a heritage apple arboretum. The sun was warm, the skies filled with trilling larks . . . . . . and the verges spangled with the first spring flowers.
There is plenty of spring colour and activity to enjoy in the garden, too.
We removed an old conifer from the front hedge and recycled it into a hugelkultur bed in the vegetable garden. Underneath it, and previously completely swamped, is a beautiful flowering currant covered in buds.The first green shoots of garlic have already appeared in this bed! I planted 60 ‘Agualdulce’ broad bean seeds next to the parsnips and extended the far side of the patch by a couple of spade widths. Onions or peas next . . .
We have been cutting, hauling and splitting logs, setting the split ones to dry in the sun before stacking. Emptying and sorting the stone shed ready for stacking logs is on the long list of things to do.We’re making slow but steady progress in the potager. Roger dug and turned the first bed and has covered it in a deep mulch of grass clippings and chopped leaves; we will let the potato crop do the rest of the work there this year. In the second bed, which needs slightly more refined preparation, he has been stripping the turf and I’ve been forking it over and removing perennial weed roots. The upturned turves have gone on top of the hugel bed (in the background) which should be ideal for growing squashes this year once finished. We’ve also made a start on the flower garden behind the house, sketching out a plan for beds, seating, taller structures and planting, then getting stuck into digging the first border.We’ve ordered a delivery of bare-rooted hedging plants: hawthorn, hornbeam and beech to fill the gaps in the boundary hedges and rosa rugosa for a hedge round part of the flower garden. We’ve been lifting young holly and honeysuckle plants from the coppice to make a start on the hedge renovation project. That woodland soil is completely lush!
We plan to make and put up lots of nestboxes for a variety of birds (and red squirrels!), so here’s the first one made from scraps of timber and roofing felt.I was pleased to discover a carpet of red-veined sorrel growing under the hedge in the Secret Garden. I’ve transplanted a dozen of them to make an edge along the veg patch there. They are a bitter leaf of the kind so highly rated in French kitchens and should be a useful ingredient in salads and hot dishes, as well as an attractive addition to the garden.We’ve remembered to take the occasional tea break in the sunshine . . . . . . and if a couple of rare treats just happened to find their way into my bike basket – well, after all that hard physical work, I don’t think we need to feel too guilty! 🥰
Lovely to see you getting on so well, and good to have the weather to do it! It is very similar here, suddenly spring has sprung and the sap is rising!! Had to Google hugelkultur bed, that’s different and will be interested to see how it works. After all your efforts, you deserve the treats in your bicycle basket, always nice just to sit occasionally.
We’re enjoying getting our teeth (and backs!) stuck into a new project, just impatient to get it all done at once, of course! 😉 Hugel beds are really big in permaculture and a brilliant idea, we made a smaller one for our tomato plants in Asturias last year and it was fantastic. They are a great way to recycle organic ‘waste’ and retain water better than a standard bed which will be important here in the dry summer. Hopefully the squash will love it!
Amazing progress! Isn’t it just great how everything gets reused in the Hügelkultur bed? I’m two thirds through the first weeding of the raised beds. Definitely feels like spring. Also found the first leaves on red veined sorrel. And there’s even a daffodil in the polytunnel!
Hooray for spring things! Yes, love the Hügelkultur, it’s the first of several beds, I think (especially as there are plenty more nasty conifers . . .) 😆
This Simple Life 
Lovely to see you getting on so well, and good to have the weather to do it! It is very similar here, suddenly spring has sprung and the sap is rising!! Had to Google hugelkultur bed, that’s different and will be interested to see how it works. After all your efforts, you deserve the treats in your bicycle basket, always nice just to sit occasionally.
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We’re enjoying getting our teeth (and backs!) stuck into a new project, just impatient to get it all done at once, of course! 😉 Hugel beds are really big in permaculture and a brilliant idea, we made a smaller one for our tomato plants in Asturias last year and it was fantastic. They are a great way to recycle organic ‘waste’ and retain water better than a standard bed which will be important here in the dry summer. Hopefully the squash will love it!
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Amazing progress! Isn’t it just great how everything gets reused in the Hügelkultur bed? I’m two thirds through the first weeding of the raised beds. Definitely feels like spring. Also found the first leaves on red veined sorrel. And there’s even a daffodil in the polytunnel!
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Hooray for spring things! Yes, love the Hügelkultur, it’s the first of several beds, I think (especially as there are plenty more nasty conifers . . .) 😆
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Thank you for these lovely photos & updates Lis! You’ve both obviously been very busy?
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