It's not been the best week -or bank holiday - weather-wise but the rain has kept the garden growing and although much colder than a fortnight ago there hasn't been enough frost to cause a problem.
There hasn't been much wind either so the cherry blossom is still hanging on and looking lovely.
Under the cherry tree, I have kerria japonica and honesty flowers clashing colours,
and, mostly hidden by them, the first flowers on Solomon's seal
The other side of the lawn has a group of bright red tulips,
more honesty,
and whitebells
The veg patch borders are covered in forget-me-nots
and the fences are covered by leaves on raspberries, flowering currants and 'real' currants, and montana clematis which isn't quite flowering yet
Underneath, bluebells are hiding. I've tried to plant them in shady spots similar to their natural habitats - so under currant bushes, next to large flopping plants or in shade cast by buildings
One apple tree is still in full flower, though another is only in bud.
First signs of lily of the valley.
Yesterday, for the first time in a long while, I joined hubby on his trip to the allotment as he wanted my opinion on the various bits of brassicas that have over-wintered. The purple-sprouting broccoli had both run to seed and been nibbled by birds, but the cabbages are standing well, and if they aren't very large, at least there's a lot of them. I brought three of them home to clear ground ready for potatoes; at a guess the one on the right is about grapefruit sized!
The fruit trees seem full of bud, particularly this pear (left) and cherry (below), and another week or so should see them full of blossom.
Blossom of another sort lined the road to the allotment - council-planted ornamental cherries which always look so beautiful at this time of year, and I just had to grab a few pics out of the car window.
It's been a lovely, mainly sunny week with temperatures getting up to 17 or so during the day and not dropping too low at night.
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