My day off and...,

heavy rain is forecast. That's life, huh?

Tonight's the night.

 Just as the sun dropped below the horizon I tool a few shots of the flowers in the garden. See how the white ones glow, often white flowers are highly scented to encourage insects to visit them.

You say tomato.

 After the hens had been put to bed and Luke had finished all his jobs (mending the pressure washer and then cleaning the decking, washing and vacuuming the car, putting new shiplap boarding onto the shed then painting it and digging over the veg patch before adding two more rows of potatoes) it was onto his beloved tomato planting. Instead of relying on late planting as he hasn't till now been able to find the tomato variety (Rosada) he likes. So, he has given himself a helping hand by purchasing five pots of tomato plants as well as a pack of seeds. Let's hope this strategy rewards us with a longer fruiting season. After all, with the raspberries such a hit with the chickens who will use all manner of tactics to get to the higher raspberries (jumping up and down and flying up onto the planters for a little extra height are their two favourite options) we have to have something just for ourselves. Sharing the garden with our feathered friends is great fun but we have to take a hit on the produce stakes. Never mind though, we do get to eat their eggs, made all the richer with their varied diet.

In the twilight hour

Those dratted hens have scratched my plants up more times that I can remember so I've had to put chicken wire over the top of these newly planted alpines and other plants. Only when the girls have gone off to bed is it safe to uncover it and by then it is almost dark.

What came first. ?

 I can tell you what came first as I heard it last week on a radio programme. The egg came first - dinosaur eggs , that is.  So, of course the chickens came later. Now that conundrum is sorted I've had it backed up with two eggs in the nesting box before Mrs Bun laid her egg - here is a photo of her on top of the run, looking through the window and in at the nesting box where Lunar was busy laying her egg. 

Talking of which came first  - the onions have shot up whilst the potatoes are just poking through. I've dug over another strip to put in the potatoes that we've bought in the supermarket and that have chitted.

Fritallaria

Isn't it amazing how a different view produces such a different look? This shy, nodding head plant is quite spectacular if you are a snail!

A walk in the park

This morning, Luke and I walked around Waterloo gardens. I believe it's a Victorian park (or parc, as they spell it in Wales) and it certainly has a very orderly feel to it. The trees are heavy with blossom and the magnolias are at their best right now. Spring is certainly in the air.

Look whose having a cool drink from the bird bath!

Tulip fever 2013