What a difference a week makes

Out with the old and in with the new this week and with the minimum of effort on our part - just goes to show it pays to get the professionals in. But, what a difference; we now have a lovely, warm and inviting greenhouse, a place to idle away many an hour when the weather's not so lovely outside, being snug and warm under glass. Just need a strong gale or two to prove it's as sturdy as the installers suggest it is.

Looking forward very much to starting off lots of seeds this weekend and sorting out all the pots etc. The biggest shock to me was just how many we had squirrelled away over the last nine years. Think a good sort out is required before I put them into the new house and spoil its pristine interior!

Should be a bumper crop of toms at least this season and who knows, maybe I could be just a little more adventurous.

The rest of the garden is being to green up nicely and all spring bulbs are doing their utmost to keep spirits up despite the lack of rain. I'm particularly pleased with the vinca, a small unassuming plant that is doing its stuff magnificently on our bank now and covering large swathes with variegated foliage and producing lots of delicate mauve flowers too. Just need to find something that will thrive under the cedar tree to cover the bare, dry earth there. I keep trying with clumps of hardy geranium, but with only mixed success.

The hellebores have also done very well this year and are still full of colour at the moment. However, some of the daffs have already gone over and the dead heading has begun - just a few each time I go up and down the path. The miniature tete a tetes have done really really well this year, lining the steps up the hill with their delightful nodding heads and making a golden edge to the wooden steps. I've been lucky enough to have received another batch from my friend again this year (ones that have 'gone over' in her shop) and have planted them to fill in the gaps so, in that respect, I'm already looking forward to next Spring!

Whoa, we haven't even had summer yet I hear you cry, or have we.....?

First or last?

Gardeners' Question Time last Sunday started with the presenter saying they'd be tackling the question of whether snowdrops are the first flowers of spring, or the last of winter? I couldn't care less, they're just lovely and it was better to get out and look at them than listen to the answer, so I did just that. Today, there are the first muscari pushing through to join the snowdrops and many miniature daffodils along with their full size versions are making a splash of colour on the bank now. Hellebores too are blooming well bringing soft shades of pink, purple, mauve and cream to add to the early colour show.

With the unseasonably warm temperatures it's been a delight to get started on seed planting with old favourite varieties of sweet pea and tomato being the first to go in, along with dahlia tubers being tucked into plenty of compost to keep them warm and encourage them into flower. I intend to leave them in pots this year, hoping to foil the pests and give myself the opportunity to place them in spaces in the borders as and when they are in flower, and there's a gap that needs filling.

Recognising a need for the garden to look at its best in July, ready for the Open Garden Event, I will be planting some new shrub roses along with seedlings of cottage garden favourites such as Nicotiana Sylvestris and cosmos. Inspired also by the meadow planting in Eaton Lands and Sarah Raven's recent programmes about planting to encourage bees and other nectar loving plants, I intend to scatter wild flower seeds on the south facing bank between house and the top garden. With luck, and a sufficient amount of water, we should have a bright and colourful bankside to greet us each morning from late spring through to early autumn and possibly beyond - we just need a bit of rain to get them going, but not too much to wash them away.