I Think It Is Spring!

The clocks spring forward next Saturday and I’m really looking forward to the lighter evenings, I’ll be able to come home from work and spend an hour in the garden. I always feel very unfit by this time of year due to lack of exercise, I do try to walk to the pub as often as possible, even on the coldest nights, as I think that is a very healthy thing to do!

It has been a sunny weekend with temperatures up to 12 degrees but frosty overnight. There is still that background chill brought about by the cold north-east breeze off the sea. That cold breeze has dogged us for weeks now, as it often does at this time of year.

This weekend I’ve continued to tidy up the garden, clearing the dead stems of perennials and grasses. I prefer not to tidy the garden until Spring as I believe the dead stems etc. help give roots and buds some protection against the cold.

It’s good to see the Hosta’s starting to come through. The next 2 photographs show these new shoots, the first is Hosta ‘Sum & Substance’, the second is Hosta ‘ Forgotten Its Name’:

 

 

Gave the lawns their first cut of the year this weekend. The grass was very wet and the ground quite boggy in places, the rear lawn has a lot of moss in it which makes it difficult to get the mower through. I might try using some moss killer this year? Thing is, I think parts of the ‘lawn’ are pure moss so I could be left with just mud. The photo below, taken through the black canes of Phyllostachys nigra (Black Bamboo) show the newly mown lawn – notice the stripes!!

 

I took a couple more photos of the Black Bamboo and thought I would include them in this post. That’s all for now!

 

The Ides of March

Well, the Ides of March is actually on the 15 March  . . . .  But . . . . I’m close enough. I believe it is the day that Julias Caesar was murdered and I remember from school studying Shakespeare's Julias Caesar when Caesar is warned:  “Beware the Ides of March”

Anyway, I think it is Spring!

Took the above photo today of daffodils with their back to me, it is a Spring-like photo.

I’ve spent much of the day in the garden clearing-up the debris of winter and taking the ivy off the garage wall. The garage is was covered with ivy and it even grew across the garage roof. I quite like the ivy as it covered an otherwise bland brick-built garage that is situated in the back-garden. However, I’ve been aware for some time that the ivy roots have totally clogged what should be a prime bit of flower border making it difficult to grow anything (anything other than ivy). But the real motivation to get rid of the ivy was that the garage roof needs replacing - we’ve been meaning to get it done for years. I haven't contracted anybody to undertake the task yet, but – one step at a time. The garage roof and re-paving the driveway should be the final part in what has been extensive improvements to the Musa Mansion over the past year. (It will have to be the final part as the Musa Money is running out!)

Garden – Spring – blog – plants . . . . . exotic plants. I’m not going to talk about the losses and suspected losses that the garden has incurred due to the cold winter. It is too painful for me to think about, let alone write about. I expect in time as the sun warms the heart that I will be able to confront reality and once again wax lyrical about bananas, tree ferns and the like. But for now it is traditional for this blog to post some images of the frogs in the pond. They have been noisily celebrating Spring with gay abandon (I’m not sure if frogs can be gay – perhaps they just haven't come out yet?).

Bring on the Frogs of Spring! . . . . .

So, that’s the frogs over with for another year. What next?

Coming Soon - More Great Musa Posts