Signs of Spring!

Well the new season finally kicks off :)

Today I saw several Queen Bumblebees and a couple of Butterflies in the garden. The woodpeckers are drumming and yaffling in the wood and the air is full of birdsong. At night I see lots of Newts and Toads getting amorous on the patio and gravel drive :)

Tomato, aubergine and pepper seeds are up in the heated propagators and various salads and brassicas are growing well as are onion and leek seedlings

The potatos are chitting nicely ( lots more out of shot)

and the earliest potaoes are begining to grow in their bags in the polytunnel.

What is the betting it snows, next week?

Spring?

After my last post I must admit I am beginning to feel cautiously optimistic that Spring might be on the way...

The snowdrops and crocii in the front garden are all blooming

 As are the ones in the Wood, and the wild daffodils are beginning to open.

The Bluebell foliage is very much in evidence now and the flower buds are beginning to push up out from the stems.

I also saw my first Queen Bumblebee emerging from hibernation !

I set up my heated propagators in the porch last week and sowed the first of the tomato, pepper and aubergine seeds and they are already growing - lots of seedlings have emerged. I have also sown onion seeds along with lots of brassicas and salads.

The ground is still far too wet underfoot to venture on to the veg garden or walk on the lawns, so I can't do much about digging over flower beds or preparing the soil but at least I feel I have finally got started on the 2014 growing season.