The winter's unpredictability severely damaged much of my new plantings of last year. I suppose for every three new plants one has gone. Sometimes miracles occur so I let stuff stay for a year before pulling out completely. I have done very little writing as I've undergone many hospital tests in Spain. So I have rather reflected the garden - sad and drab. I also corrupted my pc which was totally cleared out and of course I had only backed up some of my stuff - why do we always think it wont ever happen?
Finally Spring has arrived rather late but benefitting from record breaking amounts of rain and of course flooding.
On 7th April the bee eaters arrived back and I spotted a little stonechat at the rear of the house. A hoopoe arrived for a brief stopover. Work done on the vegetable beds last year are showing signs of paying off as beans, spinach, melons and my present from a Texan friend of various peppers and chillies show their heads above soil.
The most exciting of all, I bought and planted four bare soil roses from Peter Beales which I worried for when we had another frost but they are doing very very well. In fact I think it is all the roses which have benefitted from extreme weather here. In due course I will photograph.... We have just been given a cherry tree which is worrying me a little about where to place it. My apple tree has failed I think but there just maybe a major victory over rhubarb production - small seedlings which look like miniature rhubarb sticks.
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