Wednesday 15th May

No sewing today on the cross stitch collaboration (yet; there's still time but it's not looking likely).

We've spent time in the garden tidying up a great spreading heaping 2/3rds empty sack of pukkamuck. It was a splendid cubic metre when delivered, but over time began to sag and take up more and more space, obstructing the way to the sentry box sheds and the compost bin. It was too heavy to move so we, no, BB, did the heavy work and I sat and watched and gave support and encouragement. We He reduced the contents of the sack by filling every single empty pot of any decent size, until at last the remnants could be heaved and rolled into a more compact shape.

This is the sack now, leaving just a dirty shadow of its sprawled self on the concrete. This has the huge advantage of being nearly invisible from the outdoor seating. 

Vicky is coming on Sunday to mulch the flowerbeds. Up until now it's been too wet or she has been enveloped in chaos at home so it's maybe a bit late. Now it just depends on whether it will be too dry!

Several pots are earmarked for the Walking Onion  to walk into.

And we can now get into the original blue sentrybox shed again. 

The poppies; oh how lovely, there is the shiest glimpse of red peeking through the buds. I don't think you will make it out in the photograph, sadly.

The garden was just a lovely place be to in today. I regret to say that I am not sorry all three students cancelled their lessons so I have had an almost free day. (There's always admin...)

The sweet peas in the plastic greenhouse house are doing well. I've been leaving the door rolled up for days now. But the peas in the bottom blue tray have not come up. How long should I leave them before I give them the old heave-ho...

Here are the three spindly salvia Armistead cuttings that survived the winter. All the plants in the ground died - again. Julia Morville in her Morville Year book wrote that she planted her agapanthus into large pots which she then used to fill blank spaces in the borders, moving them around. That way she was able to bring them into shelter over winter. I think I am going to try that with these salvias.