“A gush of bird-song, a patter of dew,
A cloud, and a rainbow's warning,
Suddenly sunshine and perfect blue—
An April day in the morning.“
Harriet Prescott Spofford
That sounds like times in the garden. A little haven in the Old Town. I love to just sit there some mornings watching our local blackbird and just feeling how peaceful it is. And we’ve been getting more sunshine too, so the garden is even more welcoming. Only there may be April showers to come….
Actually there are a few creatures visiting at the moment. Some we want to see, like the ladybird. But others, like the slugs and caterpillars are less welcome. There has been a bit of life in Bugingham Palace too. There are kid’s spotter sheets in the book tree if you are visiting and want to spend some time bug hunting.
There’s lots of new plant life coming up now too. And shrubs are flowering. Even our hanging baskets are full of colour already. The alpine plants in them seem to thrive being against the wall.
Last Friday’s volunteer session was a busy one. Tidying up the yard and feeding and watering plants there. We have quite a few cuttings taken from last year as well as plants we have split and re-potted. We’ve had a delivery of compost there too, ready for more seed sowing and bulb planting. And a ton of top soil has arrived in the garden to top up and fill our containers too.
My wormery has been moved to my garage now and has a full tray. It has three layers of trays and as you fill the bottom layer with paper and kitchen waste the worms eat their way through it, turning it into compost. You then put another tray on top and start to fill it. When the worms have finished with the lower layer they will move up into the next layer and eat their way through that. They were short and thin when I first got them. Now they are long and fat, so they obviously like their diet. Although it can be hard to find them sometimes as they don’t like daylight. So when you take the lid off they dart under their food. Perhaps they are just shy?
Blooming Old Gardener
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