We had a few afternoons at the allotment with Sunday being an especially lovely afternoon when it felt as though spring had actually begun. 

We spent much of the time tidying and strimming the grass  – nothing that really lends itself to interesting photos. The conditions are ideal for grass growth and it almost seems as though the grass immediately grows back again after it has been strimmed.

We did some planting too.

I planted up the third bed of onions. This planting was the red onions and shallots grown from seed.

We also sowed more of the pre-germinated parsnips. We are encouraged by the fact that the first lot of seeds have now pushed up shoots and every single seed that was planted has produced a seedling. That’s all very well but the real test will be when we find out what actually happens below ground. Some of the seeds planted this time had roots a bit longer than we would have liked.

One area of the plot has been designated as a flower patch. We have already planted some sweet peas and last week I planted some gladioli bulbs and sowed some annual seeds.

Many of the potatoes have now produced some strong top growth so Martyn earthed them up.

We uncovered our first sowing of peas which I started to weed. One of the problems with protecting things under mesh is that weeds can take over unnoticed.

We had another visit to Temple Newsam, as we want to catch the point when the rhododendrons and azaleas are in bloom.

Only one or two rhododendrons were beginning to flower but the azaleas were at the start of their display.

We headed for another part of the wooded area and were overwhelmed by the bluebells. We thought that the earlier displays were beautiful but this was on a different scale. Bluebells carpeted the ground as far as the eye could see and the perfume was intoxicating. Ruby seemed to find the scent interesting too.

I just wish a photo could capture the scene effectively.

By the path, we spotted pockets of wood anemones.

We also paid a visit to our usual haunt – Nostell where, as at Temple Newsam the landscape is greening. I love the fresh green of spring. The horse chestnut flowers are also beginning to open.

There are still masses of bluebells but Temple Newsam’s display outshines them.

By the way, we finally have bluebells flowering in our garden but our display is on a far more modest scale.

When we bought the bluebells, there was quite a lot of wild garlic mixed amongst them so we now have a display of wild garlic flowers. We’ll have to make sure that we keep the garlic in check as it could take over.

The highlight of the week has to centre on the lake at Nostell. I read that the cygnets had hatched on the day before our visit, but we didn’t expect to see them bobbing about on the lake.

Both parent birds were in attendance. It’s amazing how the newly hatched cygnets can swim and feed themselves. They also instinctively know that they must stay close to the adult birds.

One bird – I’m guessing it was the male – kept a close watch along the banking.

There were eight fluffy bundles. It’s a dangerous time for them so I really hope that they all survive – we will be keeping count.

If you are interested there is a video of the cygnets here.

That’s all our news for this week, so as always until next time, stay safe and well.