Spring is beginning. Exciting.

The weather has been warm, relatively speaking, and the garden has come alive.   There are signs of growth, everywhere.   

A brilliant patch of purple crocuses glowing brightly amongst the grasses.

The juicy red stalks and green leaves of the rhubarb are showing through.   And it looks like there will be a bumper crop this year.    Delicious rhubarb and orange jam, plus rhubarb sponge for pudding.   Looking forward to it.

New fake grass for the patio.   I love fake grass, always looks green, does not need mowing, and no mole hills.

  The warm weather has brought the moles out from hibernation, deep down in their tunnels.   Our resident mole is currently springcleaning its tunnels, which results in piles of soil above the ground.  No wonder our lawn at the back looks like the aftermath of a mining area, with the ground sinking over the tunnels and rising over the piles of dirt.

And of course we have now plenty of patches of dead grass, caused by dog wee, to add to the undulating ground.  I think a really good topdressing and repair job might be on the agenda this year.  Or more fake grass.  

Aah, the offending shrub, which had annoyed me all winter.   A Weigela I think.   It has beautiful pink flowers in late summer, on the previous new branches.   But the shrub needed a very good prune, as it was getting so straggly.   A job I had been putting off.   And the ivy, which normally covers the bank, had found its way up the branches of the shrub.  

Guess what!   I found an old wine bottle, thrown into the shrub during Scott's 2013 New Years Eve party.   It was obviously a good party, Scott.   And an easy way to get rid of the bottles too.

The branches have been cut back, now to get rid of all that ivy.

The view now from the kitchen window.  A great improvement, but no flowers this year, sadly.  The hebe next to it looks a little stark.   Sadly the dead parts of the hebe, deprived of light for so long, will not regrow again.  

 The new rose arch, all ready for the climbing roses to start growing over it. I hope the roses appreciate their drastic pruning, and start to grow again.  The garden in full sunshine.  It was so lovely last week.

So with the spring flowers out, and tiny leaves starting to bud, spring is definitely in the air.   So exciting.