27 BAY TREES FOR £2!

Back from Manchester - for those not in the know have been having a frazzling lying prostate in the radiotherapy department of Christies for prostrate C. - or the other way round. 2 frazzlings to go. This explains the intermittent nature of the blog.

Funny word blog - you know those puzzles where you have to make as many words as you can with the letters given - well, for blog all you can get is GO LOB LOG, GOB, BOG and B.O. - I am not sure the last counts.

To more serious matters -

the tulips are in fine fettle and the recent spell of warm weather has brought everything on.

Yesterday brought a variegated Brunnera for down near the pond, a white everlasting sweet pea and a dropmore scarlet honeysuckle for the willow arch. My aim is to cover it in climbing, flowering plants.

The Victoria Plum is in blossom as shown here.

By the look of it there will be a lot of thinning out of fruit to do later in the year.

It is only early April but the first asparagus is through and I have been removing flowering stems from the rhubarb. R is weeding with vigour.

Bought ten purple sprouting broccoli (now planted), a culinary thyme and a pot of bay on the market in Ulverston for about £3:50.

The pot of bay had 27 individual plants in it!

I have put them in the cutting bed but what do I do with 27 bay trees? I couldn't resist the bargain.

Up in the woodland area, amongst the primroses, wood anemones and first wild bluebells, I have been pruning branches lower than 6 feet from the ground on the hawthorns. I found two of the trees were dead. I took some cuttings and shoved them in the top corner - they may root - nothing to lose. Hawthorns would be useful in improving the field hedges.

So much needs doing and so many ideas and so little stamina.

I think I need a chocolate biscuit.