The weather has been seasonably mild for the last couple of weeks and everything in the garden seems to have suddenly started to wake up, the perennials are pushing up shoots, the shrubs have tiny leaf buds appearing and the early spring flowers are starting to appear. I’ve worked hard in the garden and I finally feel I’m making progress in the big tidy-up…

I’d been working on the raised bed by the patio for what seems like ages, weeding and cutting stuff back. This weekend I reached the far end, pruning the overhanging branches of the black sambucus in front of the fence, I’ve kept the height as it helps to disguise the fence. I’ve also put a nesting box up by the sambucus, it’s an open fronted one designed for blackbirds or robins, last year a pair of blackbirds nested against the fence in the shrub, so I’m hoping the box might be a bit cosier and safer. I also pruned the choisya as it was starting to impinge on the rose next to it and tried to smother the artemisia in front. I found a hydrangea tucked behind the choisya, so I’m planning to move it in the next couple of weeks to somewhere with a little bit more light and room and where it can actually be seen! The whole border looks so much better, still a bit of weeding to do, but I feel on top of it now, it looks cared for!

I then moved on to the rose border by the top circle of grass. This border is my priority this year as it was getting choked up with couch grass, mares tail and bindweed. This is what it looked like back in November…

…not a pretty sight! Four large trugs of weed roots later and I’ve almost cleared this corner. I’ve had to sacrifice a few perennials along the way such as geraniums, as they were just overtaken by weeds. I carefully dug up my shrubby clematis, pulled out the couch grass routes running through it and replanted it a bit further along the border. There will still be weeds coming up as some were right in the middle of the roses, but I’m planning on tackling those (very carefully) with a weedkiller as they appear. The border looks promising now, I’ll put some low growing flowering shrubs in and a few perennials, trying to make it lower maintenance. This is what it looks like now…

The hellebores are still flowering their socks off…

The ones round the pond still need their leaves trimming back, but the snowdrops by the pond are making quite a drift this year.

I’ve got pulmonaria in various pockets around the garden as it seems to self seed or spread, there’s just a few pink/purple flowers appearing under the rhododendron by the pond. It wasn’t easy to photograph them as they are so small and low, I just lowered the camera and crossed my fingers, this was the best shot and although it’s not got the whole flower, I rather like it!

The first daffodils of the year have appeared, it always feels like spring is getting close when the daffodils start to flower, they are so bright and cheerful, there’s even a few crocuses just showing their purple spike. These daffodils are miniature ones in a pot by the back door.

My three sessions a week in the garden are definitely paying dividends, I’ve just got to keep it up!