A week later........

On sunday morning a small team worked in the school garden to make good and replace the hazel hurdles which were damaged beyond repair in the last gales. They have been replaced with larchlap type fencing which should be stronger and last a little longer.

Nearer the pond the first daffodil of the year in the garden was flowering along with a few crocuses.

In the greenhouse the sweet pea seeds planted just before Christmas are doing well. They should give us an early show of colour and scent

Finally one of the rosemary bushes which had found itself in the wrong place has been moved to a new home in the World War 2 garden.  It should fill out the space just inside the gate so when we go in and out of the garden we can enjoy the smell and the flowers.

With the diggers quiet next door over the weekend the birds had returned to the feeding station and made up for what seemed like a lack of appetite during the week. The fat balls and seed disapperared very quickly and had to be topped up before leaving.

A slight setback!

The New Year brought with it some very strong winds with gusts locally of over 80mph. For the hazel hurdle fencing this was just too much. It was ripped clean out of the ground and blown back towards the boundary fence. One of the hurdles can possibly be recycled in the garden for another season.

The fence line clear ready for the new panels

The sun was warm and there were plenty of bees darting around the garden. With this in mind two more of the insect homes were installed. The new ladybird house was put up near the pond and the butterfly house was put alongside the pond dipping platform where it will get plenty of sun which will keep it warm inside for hibernating butterflies - and maybe moths!

The new ladybird house

The butterfly and moth house

The mild temperatures have kick started things. Nasturtiums are sprouting from self sown seeds of last year  and in the pond insect life was abounding with plenty of pond skaters doing their stuff on the water. It should not be long if it stays mild before we see some frog spawn!

Nasturtium seedlings

In the greenhouse the Hibiscus is trying to flower again. This winter has certainly been very mild up to now.