Time For A Well Earned Rest

March ended with a flurry of activity. In addition to seed sowing, planting in and around the woods and finishing off the lounge we had spent a few days helping our neighbours lay about 300m² of turf. By the time April arrived we were pretty exhausted and ready for a little break.

With the lounge nearly done the carpet arrived and was fitted on the 2nd of April. With the curtains on order it was almost complete.

Something we became aware of while working on the smallholding was how the days and weeks would merge together. If it wasn't for my attempts to keep a diary going we would have had no idea what we had done and when. A surprising result was that, at times, we would forget to stop and have a rest.

Thankfully, at the beginning of April, we were blessed to be able to welcome some old friends to stay for a few days. (Not old as such but those who are always there through thick and thin, the type you can not speak to for a few months and then catch up exactly where you left off - pure gold.) As well as the opportunity to spend some quality time together this gave us the perfect excuse to have a rest and enjoy some wonderful tasty meals out. The weather was due to be horrible, wet, rainy and cold with the chance of snow. However, we managed to escape the worst of the second beast from the east and indeed it was a glorious day when we visited Loch Lomond.

I pinched this photo from our friends. They are much better photographers than me and I just loved this one with the stones in the foreground and the snowcapped hills behind.

The newly refurbished Maid of the Loch was just visible in this photo.

We had a wonderful few days and cannot wait for our friends to return as we have so many other places to visit and restaurants to try.

Springing Forward Through March.

It's hard to believe that we are over halfway through April already and I've yet to post an update for March so here it is, a look back over the end of winter and the start of spring!


What a glorious few days we had during March, the sun was shining brightly bringing warmth and light to the garden. We still had some cold nights but we could cope with that when the days were long and it was heartening to see the woods starting to come alive with pockets of colour.


While M was spending all of his time working on the lounge renovation I was splitting my time between knitting on wet days and making the most of dry days with outside jobs. As the days started to lengthen I was able to resume my afternoon walks around the woods with the dogs. Although Jess was less keen on the long slow amble it gave me the chance to work my way around all the bulbs we planted last year and see if/how they were progressing.


We remembered planting quite a few Winter Aconites at some point last year but as this was in our pre-labelling phase we had no idea where we had put them. I was so pleased to see these leaves appear and it gave us hope that they hadn't all died during the harsh winter. There were no flowers this year but if they get stronger we may see some next year.

 

One of my most eagerly awaited bulbs was the woodland plant Erythronium. We planted Pagoda (yellow) around the woods and White Beauty (white) in the white garden. Initially they looked like tulip bulbs but then large variegated leaves appeared, we've never had these plants before so couldn't wait to see what they would be like.


Thankfully the white garden started to show signs of white flowers. The extra large crocus were beautiful in the sunshine and in-between there was the promise of daffodils and tulips to come.


M and I were a little dubious about putting Crocus in the woods as we thought they usually lasted such a short time and then ended up looking staggly and messy. However, these were huge Crocus, Joan Of Arc, and when the sun shone they opened up beautifully to reveal bright orange stamen. I tried to photograph my hand next to them to give some sort of scale.


Another first for us was the Wood Anemone which seemed to be enjoying the longer days and slightly increased temperatures.


Even the Gunnera, which had looked dead all winter seemed to be sparked into life after a few warm and sunny days. If you look very closely there are signs of a couple of tiny little leaves.


The bluebells I planted in 2016 didn't flower last year but they were looking a lot stronger this year and hopefully they will produce some pretty flowers in the coming weeks.


Having procrastinated for a few weeks I eventually got around to cleaning the greenhouse. A cool and cloudy day was perfect to get everything outside and spruce up the windows, shelving and trays ready for the new season. As a bonus all the plants got a good watering before going back in! Another major job done and dusted for the year.

The Rhododendrons had their spring feed and mulch which should improve their leaf colour as they always look a bit yellow after a wet and cold winter.


One sure sign that spring has begun is the cowslip flowers. This is an original, inherited plant and as it is well established it just thrives in the woods.


March was a truly busy month with the lounge nearing completion and all the associated decision making including carpet, curtains, lighting etc etc. It was also a chance for me to get some early seeds sown in the propagators in the house, in anticipation of warmer days and nights to come. With so much happening indoors it was a gentle start to the smallholding season but we knew that when the clocks changed the outdoor jobs would take priority and we were looking forward to it all. Roll on April.

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring

Wow, where does the time go, I can't believe we are into March already and it seems like ages since my last smallholding post. It's time we had another little tour around the woods and garden to see what's been going on. Winter is the least productive time around the smallholding, mainly due to the cold wet weather and very very short days.

As usual we had plenty of snow to finish off January. Although we got off lightly compared to some areas of the country it was so cold that it took days for it to melt away.

It did look very pretty on the trees and we were thankful we didn't have to go too far, staying in by the fire admiring the beauty outside.

After the snow came the melt and rain which emphasised the areas of the woods which will need some drainage attention later in the year. How these trees have survived I have no idea but the willows certainly enjoy the water.

At the end of January we found we had a visitor in the byre. Well, to be honest it was Jess and Finn who found her before she disappeared into our neighbour's byre. We put out some food and set up the video camera; sure enough she was living in the byre and gobbled down the food. A few days later she was in the yard and the dogs chased her to the byre again. I was a bit worried she might run into the road so went to find her. She was the friendliest little cat, wanted lots of cuddles and more food. She was a stray but she definitely wasn't feral as she tried to get in the back door and sat outside the window.

Sadly we couldn't keep her as Jess and Finn are not cat friendly dogs so our neighbour took her to the local Cat Protection League where we hope she will find a loving home.

M was working hard renovating the lounge and the heavy rain at the end of January exposed a few leaks in the outside wall, thankfully before he had insulated and plastered it. We were fortunate the weather improved a little and he was able to do some essential repair work.

When we enter February I always feel a tinge of optimism as the days begin to extend as we gain almost an extra 4 hours of daylight. We still have the weather to contend with but at least we can get up and out with the dogs nice and early.

This first week  of February was lovely, it felt great to be outside pottering around and getting the onions started off in little pots in the greenhouse.

M was also busy making more sausages, they are gorgeous and don't last too long in this household.

After another bout of snow I was delighted to see that we had lots of bulbs appearing after our mass planting session last year. Thankfully we put in loads of labels so we could see where we'd put them and there were numerous groups of greenery poking up around the woods.

This was the first early daffodil to flower, braving the elements.

While the 'White Garden' has yet to live up to it's name at least there were signs of life as the tulips were emerging and the odd crocus.

This was the second year for all the transplanted snowdrops and they put on a beautiful show, larger clumps of healthier taller flowers. Hopefully they will continue to improve every year.

We planted lots of wood anemone last year and after much searching I found this little shoot which I am convinced is the start of a plant. M was particularly underwhelmed, although there is no scale in the photo it's about 1cm tall! I can't wait to see more and eventually see some flowers.

Despite concentrating on the woods we tried not to neglect the garden too much so it was wonderful to see the Iris, Crocus and Daffodils appearing here too.

    

Erythronium is a woodland plant which we saw on a tv show and thought would be ideal in our woods. We planted lots of Pagoda (yellow) and White Beauty (white) in different areas in the woods. Sadly in one area it looked like some resident animals had taken a liking to them and the earth was disturbed around the labels. I wasn't confident any would survive but then I spotted this. Although it looked a bit like a tulip I found another 4 which looked identical so here's hoping it is what it says on the label.

Our little Hellebore suffered a bit with the snow and rain but still managed to produce a few flowers, if it gets through this winter I hope it will be better next year.

A week of mild weather gave me the opportunity to get in the garden to do some weeding and tidying up. I hadn't even noticed this but I think it is the Peony we planted last spring. Not a bad start, we might even get a flower this year.

Towards the end of February the weather was glorious and it felt very much like spring was just around the corner but how wrong could we be.

It was only a few days after this that the Beast from the East appeared and it combined with Storm Emma to bring chaos across the country. Again we got off lightly, it was really cold but thankfully we only had a smattering of snow to contend with.

Sadly the horrible weather seemed to cause Mr Mole some issues with his navigation and he ended up in the garden. Over the space of 3 days this is what he did. Aaagh!!!

This time of year also gives us the best excuse to stay inside, it's the 6 Nations, one of our favourite sporting events of the year. Finn is less impressed, preferring to be outside for another walk.

Now, well into March we seem to have turned the corner, it's much milder, the sun has appeared and there is warmth in the breeze. M is concentrating on getting the lounge finished now that the walls have been plastered and the fire has been fitted. The carpet has been chosen (sneak preview above) so we just need to get the paint and then it's full steam ahead.

Next week also sees the start of seed sowing in the windowsill propagators before we tackle the annual greenhouse clean. But in the meantime I'm trying to finish a little more knitting so I can share my latest crafty addiction. We have so much to look forward to and even more to be thankful for.