Getting a little bit done in the garden as the weather improves, but the rain has returned for today. Hope everyone is keeping well and sane in these strange times. It is a time to be really grateful for our gardens.
1 – Some cheery crocus to start this week. Photos taken yesterday in the sunshine. These are some of my bargain buys from earlier in the year.
Crocus
Crocus
2 – Anemoneblanda I think – don’t seem to be as many as last year.
3 – Dandelions – where there is dandelions pollinators should not be far behind. I saw one queen bumblebee in flight yesterday and one hoverfly, but it is still pretty cool here. And looking like it will only get above 10 degrees on one day of next week.
Dandelions
4 – Leaves are appearing on the crab apple tree. Always one of the first to come out.
5 – Some of the tadpoles have hatched. Their hatching was followed by a morning of frost which had a layer of ice on the pond so I hope most of them survived the freezing. There is no shortage!
6 – And finally Junior. This handsome fellow has been with us for a good few years, but we found him dead in the chicken coop yesterday. He had shown no sign of being ill, was a good weight, so we think he may have had a heart attack. He will be missed as he was always a friendly cockerel. We have a couple of his sons and one will get to take over his reign. This photo was taken a few weeks ago on a cold and frosty morning.
I was going to post six garden highlights yesterday for six on Saturday but I had to work this weekend so I never got time to post. So I am cheating and giving you six on Sunday instead.
1. Crabapple blossom. The leaves and blossom have suffered from last week’s hail and sleet (note the brown-edged on flowers and leaves), but it is still a beautiful sight!
Crab apple
2. My sister gave me these drumstick primroses as present a few years ago and they seem to be starting to multiply a little.
Primula denticulata
3. Slowly the lettuce crops are coming. For now, we are enjoying nice crunchy, peppery radishes, rocket and purslane.
Radish
4. Rockcress, is not as plentiful as other years. I need to remember to collect seed and set some plants to overwinter in the greenhouse or polytunnel.
Rockcress
5. The frogs must have run out of room in the pond because we discovered some spawn in this improvised water tank. The tadpole in both pond and tank are growing fast.
Tadpoles
6. And finally some of the queen bees have started collecting pollen. This means they have chosen their nest sites and within a couple of weeks worker bees will start to emerge.
Regular readers will remember we had plenty of frogs in the pond earlier in the year and lots of spawn. The tadpoles are now developing into little frogs. My youngest spotted a couple moving from the pond to the hedgerow.
A frog in the hand
They are so tiny. The fact that any of these creatures can make it to a full -sized adult frog is truly amazing. How big the world must seem to them!
The tadpoles have hatched and are growing quickly. They are concentrating themselves in dense clumps in the shallower water at one end of the garden pond. I suspect as they get bigger they will begin to move out.
Tadpoles
In the picture below you can see some of the braver ones!
Murtagh's Meadow 