Last week gave us a glimpse of what we hope is to come. For a couple of days, the sun shone and we even ventured out without coats.
Now, whether you prefer the meteorological or astronomical definition of spring is entirely up to you — but there could now be no argument — last Friday marked the beginning of astronomical spring. It is now, officially, spring.
By midweek, the sunshine had real warmth in it, enough to discard coats on our walks.
At home and in the garden
Colour is beginning to seep back into the garden.
We spent an afternoon tidying, which felt long overdue. The ferns have all been cut back, making way for the new croziers that will soon start unfurling. Something that always fascinates me.
A couple of clematis should have been cut back every year… and, well, they hadn’t been. So they’ve now been pruned drastically.
Ideally, this would have been done in February, and they were already putting on top growth, so I may have been a little late to the party. I’m hoping for fresh shoots from the base — though at the moment, I’m not entirely convinced.
More seeds have been sown (of course), and the list is steadily growing.
The cauliflowers and cabbages have been potted on and are now toughing it out in the greenhouse.
At the allotment
We are managing to spend more time at the allotment, although work is still mainly focused on tidying.
The hard clods of soil left after last year’s digging have been softened by the winter rain, so Martyn has been breaking them down. If they dry out again, it will be back to square one.
He has also been incorporating manure into the beds – not the most glamorous of jobs.
I focused on cutting back. The jostaberries have been reduced in height and thinned out, with all the dead wood removed.
The autumn raspberries have been cut right down to ground level, and I cleared and weeded around the new shoots just starting to appear.
The plants in the strawberry bed have come through the winter well, so it was simply a matter of a general tidy up
Our early rhubarb is nearly ready for its first harvest. It’s one of those small milestones that confirms the growing season has begun.
We dug up all the remaining leeks to prepare for freezing – it’s always satisfying to harvest something at this time of year.
Clumber Park
On Thursday, we decided on a trip to Clumber Park. The car was packed with clothing for every possible type of weather. Although the morning was sunny and warm, we weren’t quite ready to trust that it would stay that way.
We packed lunch for the three of us. There is a dog café at Clumber Park, but we prefer to spend our time walking rather than queuing for food.
Clumber Park is home to the National Rhubarb collection.
We live in what is known as the Rhubarb Triangle, where there are many forcing sheds and fields of rhubarb locally.
Unlike commercial growers, we don’t force ours, we leave it to do its thing. I’ve always thought that it was cruel treatment.
They grow around 130 varieties — slightly more than we have! However, our early variety, ‘Early Timperley’, is also one of theirs and is among the earliest they grow too.
After viewing the rhubarb, we set off on a walk around the lake where I couldn’t resist another daffodil shot. You just can’t get enough of daffodils can you?
In the local park
The sunshine on Wednesday brought everyone out. The car park was full, and the café was doing a roaring trade.
There is a soft green haze beginning to appear on the trees — one of those subtle changes you only notice if you’re looking for it. Much of it is from the pussy willow, now in flower.
Pussy willow flowers may not have petals, but they are no less attractive for it.
Wildlife
At Clumber Park, the geese were particularly noisy, with frequent skirmishes breaking out on the lake.
March is peak breeding season, when males are actively choosing and defending their mates. Noise is very much part of both courtship and territorial behaviour, and they are equally vocal when protecting nesting sites.
In contrast, the grey squirrels were far quieter. One sat alongside a group of small birds, all feeding on seeds and nuts placed on tree stumps.
Finally
Ruby loves her days out and is always eager to jump into the car. She enjoys watching the world go by, although after a busy day she usually curls up and snoozes until we are nearly home.
The grumpy expression in the last photo was the result of the click when I took the photo disturbing Ruby’s nap,.
Until next week, stay safe, stay well and enjoy the sunshine when you can.
I agree with you about not forcing rhubarb, I always leave mine to grow happily.
Forced rhubarb always looks weak and insipid to me Margaret
Haha! Ruby’s face in the last photo 😆
You’re right, you can’t have too many daff photos!
They don’t stay around long enough do they Belinda?
We were at Clumber Park on Friday, rather late in the day so we didn’t walk round the lake, but I did admire the daffodils just in front of the Temple, from the other side of the lake.
Those were the ones that I photographed, Jo
😄This year I am being cruel to my rhubarb ……lol ….I don’t take all of it and It can have a rest next year ! Your garden is looking beautiful ! 💐x
Make sure no-one reports you to the rhubarb police Debbie
I always remember we had jugs of pussy willows and daffodils in the kitchen at this time of year.
I remember taking them to school, Debbie
I had no idea there were so many varieties of rhubarb! It is a difficult crop for me to grow here.
Our area was aAwarded Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) Dave, Just like Champagne. In fact there is a variety of rhubarb called Chammpagne They even do tours if the forcing sheds.