OH! TO BE IN ENGLAND

Now that April's here.
The Cherry now is hung with bloom along the bough - well one of them is, almost.
And the daffs are great where they have not been nibbled - petals chewed here and there.
And I got my mowers back tonight.
And it has started raining.
And my sister and husband come for tomorrow (so no mowing).
And the grass is a-growing - I can almost hear it laughing at me.
And we were given a pot full of pleones - Chinese ground orchids. I have repotted them and we have a dozen small pots now. I am told they like well drained gritty soil (so they are in soggy potting compost) and should be left to dry out in the winter, only watering when they show signs of growth in the spring. They seem to grow from small bulb-like/corm-like thingys.

So we will give some away, nurture others, both indoors and outside, and say a big thanks to Sue who is so generous with her seedlings, cuttings and plants.

We met a gamekeeper whilst we were out on a walk yesterday and he said that last year he bagged over 40 grey squirrels - they eat so many small birds' eggs and chicks. We have a plague on our hands. R says, whereas she can appreciate a cuddly bunny (even when it eats the buds off our fritillaries) for the grey tree rats she has no loving feelings.
So I set the trap again and - nothing yet. (D***, I have just dribbled tea down my shirt.) My shirt is red and so are Madame Lefebvre tulips - first ones out.

In the bed where the path branches off down to the Wendy House R grows an expanse of euphorbia, splendid and acid green. However, this bed also contains some roses, several rosa rugosa, and various perennials. These are to go, she says, so that the whole bed can be one glorious mass of green and yellow. 

So now I am wondering where to move the other plants - I cannot just chuck them away - everything can have a place if one thinks hard enough - well not quite everything - not the ground elder, bindweed and creeping buttercup.
And that is to not mention plants we do not have, and DO NOT WANT! - Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam - that will do - I am having palpitations. I have enough with nettles and brambles and sycamore and ash tree seedlings everywhere. The little trees are easy enough to pull up if small but once they get going they are toughies.

We have sent off our response to Gary Primrose's first ideas and wait his response. Then it will be a matter of balancing budgets with plans and desires.

We live here in our little world and greater events flit past only brushing us incidentally. I am in my

study footling (am an expert footler) and R is in her Wendy House writing. In this image you can see the pond as it is - watch this space. And the mallard come every morning for a breakfast of tadpoles.

So I shall now tootle off into the other room and stare at the TV.
So from a footler and tootler, fare ye well till the next blog.

Oh! To be in England,
now that April's here.
April is a barmaid
with lots of sun-blonde hair.

Sorry Mr Browning.
(I wonder did his friends call him Gravy?)