Gurt lush!

We returned home from the airport a week ago in the very early hours of the morning. We'd been away for ten days and during our absence the English countryside had blossomed in spectacular fashion.The car headlights lit roadside verges awash with cow parsley and overhanging hedgerows were a white-out of may blossom. Everywhere was lush and green. It looked like a Helen Allingham watercolour.

Helen Allingham 'The Cottage Gate.'
1884-1926

On holiday in Crete we had been told that their winter weather had been warm and dry, there were none of the beautiful wild flowers that we usually see in Greece at this time of year, the landscape looked barren.
But what a difference ten days away from home can make - I've been on catch-up in the garden ever since!

Holiday washing on the line.

The perennial borders jam packed

and starting to colour up.

After many months of rain there is more moss than grass on the lawn. We've put down lawn sand. Once the moss blackens we'll start the great rake-up!

The pond is pretty messy and I've had a bit of a go at cleaning it out. But there are lots of newts in there and they seem happy enough so I'm loathe to purchase any chemical cleaner.

It's good to get away but it's great to be back home, especially in May when everything is bursting into life!

At last!

It's sunny and warm - at last! Suddenly everything looks promising; trees and hedges greening up, the perennial borders springing into life.

The earth is disappearing as old favourites emerge, along with the bane of my gardening life, the invasive weed, ground elder.

The daffodils are going over

 but the pear trees are full of blossom.

The tree peonies are putting on a show. My labels have faded so, unfortunately, I no longer know their names.

I'm busy planting out in the veg plot, erecting barriers so that the pigeons don't demolish the lot.

I'm using the bits of metal and netting from my old fruit cage. It collapsed in spectacular style one winter under the weight of snow when I'd neglected to remove the roof netting - not a mistake I shall make again! Today I struggled to put up the netting on the replacement cage. What a faff - swearing was involved!

The bird barriers don't look pretty, but they do the job.

I also use redundant glazing units to create some wind protection.

There is only one squash left from last year's crop. I cut into this one, mmm, a lovely sweet perfume as the knife cut the flesh. I've planted some of the seeds.

I'm a simple soul, give me some warmth and sunshine and I feel really OPTIMISTIC!