Monday morning

Our world has emerged this morning from a 24 hours deluge with glorious sunshine, blue skies and birds singing. Yesterday (Sunday) it didn't stop raining - big heavy rain. The gutters couldn't cope so water was pouring from the roof everywhere. To make things more miserable there was a strong north wind. So outdoor gardening was a wash-out (!).  The local Litterpick was abandoned it was so bad.
Nevertheless we planted up 30 french beans in pots and 9 peppers.

I walked around this morning to check for damage. A sweet-pea wigwam was blown over, not too much of a problem because they hadn't really got climbing. The rose arch was at 45%. The climbing rose is very vigorous and gets super-heavy without aggressive pruning. I straightened it up - but that's a job for a dry day to prune the rose and strengthen the arch supports. Lots of other climbing roses had come away from their supports and need tying back. Some of the old fencing and the side gate are continuing on their one-way road to total dilapidation.


There's a change to the garden over the last 48 hours. The daffodils have nearly all gone and are being replaced by bluebells. We have loads of bluebells everywhere. Unfortunately they are mostly the Spanish cultivated ones (pink & white as well as blue) but they are pretty. It's virtually impossible to get rid of them. However deep you dig they still pop up the next year. The damson and plum blossom has finished and the cherries and apples are beginning to open. The big, wild, cherry tree is white.

The biggest change unfortunately is the weeds. Couch grass and ground elder have taken advantage of the wet and are everywhere. But the sun is shining and it'll be May 1 tomorrow!