Springing to life

Ellesmere's garden is coming to life.

The Spring is dressing Winter's nakedness, rejuvenating shrubs and flowers, every bud carries the promise of summer's glorious palette.

cherry trees

Japanese quince

unknown

Peony

I've finished the raised potager structures ... made with reclaimed timber slabs from the tip.

Inelegant but functional (hopefully).

Another project on the go is the restoration of this decrepit garden bench.

They are very expensive to buy new.

I'm hoping it will turn out nicely. Post-restoration pictures coming in a couple of weeks.

St Patrick's Day lunch

Cliona has prepared a wonderful Sunday lunch ... to which some local friends have been invited.

We are having traditional boiled bacon and cabbage and colcannon.

Dessert is a chocolate cake with creamy white topping ... a "Guinness" cake!

The lounge/dining room is ready and some classical Irish flute is playing on the radio (RTE).

The fire is going in the living room. Cold mizzle has now replaced the warm Spring sunshine we enjoyed yesterday.

the buds of spring

The bulbs Cliona planted in the winter are in full flight.

tulips galore

grape hyacinth

My neighbour and wine-maker Remy and his son-in-law Romaric came good on their promise to give me a heap of artichoke plants.

I planted them in the ground which my other neighbour, Monsieur Malbec, had kindly prepared for me with his tractor.

I will put potatoes into the other half of the patch.

The birds are all a-twitter, having found their Spring voices.

The roses are bursting with new leaf, green and coppery-red.

The hydrangeas have come back to life and we can see new buds of peony.

The lawns around Ellesmere have gone berserk so I am busy keeping them in check.