IT HAS GONE

 May is here and my ride on mower left this afternoon on the strict instructions of she who must be obeyed. The future is more long grass, more mulch mowing, and so on.

The sycamore has donated an abundance of seedlings to the garden carpeting everywhere. SIGH!

At least. Monty Don said every garden must have a great white cherry and I agree. Our tree is almost over but there is a sucker so we might have two.

The gardener dug a channel through the sodden grass to drain it and then we found the stream disappearing into a hole before coming up lower down. We could have just plugged the hole - now done.

Weather next - cold and dismal. No wonder the swallows and martins have not yet arrived. And we have noticed the almost total absence of a dawn chorus let alone curlews calling. What is happening?

There is a mixture of wild plants in  the long grass - no big mower now - like the ribwort plantain and down by the pond the Kingcup or Marsh Marigold.

One plant I had forgotten was the Solomon's Seal I planted in the hedge fifteen years ago and it is still there. The Sweet Cicely, a thug, I dig out last year and lo and behold must have missed a bit!

In the far garden the white birches thrive and some of the daffodil underplanting has survived - and we now have bluebells in the woodland. Forgetmenots all over the place self sown, even a few pink ones.

We like euphorbias and here are two flowering at present -

We do have other colour, wallflowers not eaten by the rabbits, the first poppies - this is the orange version of the Welsh Poppy, and tulips.

Note the errant celandines in the image below, I do not mind them, R is not so certain.

And so to some odds and ends - the dark leaves of our scattering umbellifer, the coils of unravelling ferns. Spring is here they say and my second Coronation - well not my Coronation but you know what mean.