Garden

Magnolia 'Susan

Just been for a prowl round the garden, bits of which are now dry enough to walk on.  Our magnolia, always late, is showing deep purple in the buds that have burst their outer cases.  Tender fuchsias planted as bedding last year are shooting, and those we over-wintered in the sitooterie (until the whitefly got to them) are almost ready for me to take cuttings.  There's a first flower on one of the exquisite epimedium davidii that Jane gave me on my 60th birthday, and a cowslip is flowering on the mossy bank at the shady top end of the garden.  There has been one casualty of the fencing episode: a ceanothus that has been sulking for years.  The spiraea and hydrangea that were moved at the same time are showing greater and lesser signs of life respectively.  Daffodils and crocuses are moving rapidly towards the messy stage.  Roses are sprouting well - reminding me, in the case of those at the front, that I didn't give them much of a cut back in the autumn.  Needless to say, dandelions, brambles, couch grass and bittercress are similarly flourishing, but I'll wait for a warmer day to tackle them.

Epimedium davidii

The old greenhouse staging that used to stand by the back door hasn't been much cop since Martyn tripped on a hose and crashed into it a while back.  It was also just too convenient a dumping ground for pots and seed trays.  On one of the fine days last week I moved the pots etc to a less visible spot in the garden, and dismantled the staging.  The wooden slatted shelves are now beside the cold frames to act as overspill, and the aluminium frames are now populating a large bin at the local tip.  It offends me not to be able recycle the metal locally, but we couldn't think of a use for it.  Better that it should be recycled into Coca-Cola tins than have it cluttering up the back yard, I suppose.