Phoebe's wood anemones

They have settled in beautifully in the little round bed behind the azalea, important to remember where they are because they will disappear until next spring..................

Lots of work done on the most glorious day of the year, it was HOT but no midgies! Indoor works continue while lucky gardeners get to work outside.................

The plastic compost bins are gone, and in their place are the raspberry canes which will hopefully enjoy having their feet plonked into the compost.............salads are starting to appear, also carrots, but the kale still going strong. Potatoes planted, beds weeded, molehills transported for soil improvement. Lobelias and Busy Lizzies into the shady beds along with lily of the valley, dahlias and gladioli. Herb barrow replanted with some herbs from Edinburgh added - two kinds of marjoram, thyme "Highland Cream", variegated sage and pineapple mint. Two containers planted, one with pansies and the other with begonias and nasturtiums. Now all we need is some clement weather and appropriate showers..................

So perish all the Queen's enemies..................

The Extremely Thorny Tree that gave Katisha such a terrible fright is no more............well, not dead but certainly sleeping having had a severe No 1 crop from me and John with the loppers and the saw.............I think it's a berberis rather than Smallpussus quasistrangulatus as we thought, with amazing bright yellow wood and lots and lots of growth rings.............

The season begins..................

and the pyromaniacs have arrived...............

Hill House work week..........Carrie and John beavering away moving stuff around for the decorators and creating a pyro pile...........Catherine weeding the veg beds and preparing for the growing season. Although much to our amazement despite the severe winter the veg are hanging on in there.............we knew kale was tough and the old leaves certainly are but it has produced flower shoots which are just like purple sprouting broccoli and very tasty and tender..............we also tried what Joy Larcom's book suggested after the cabbages were harvested, to cut the stems across so that they would sprout again..........it worked so each one had produced four little cabbagelets, one at each corner. I have moved the leeks into a new empty bed and the thinnings are coming to Edinburgh, or rather the lucky ones are, the rest will be tomorrow's dinner. certainly weren't expecting to be eating anything out of the garden at this stage, so a nice surprise!

Some red lettuce had also made it through the winter, so they are also in a new bed which will be the designated salad bed.............green cos, chervil, spicy salad mix and leaf beet are in too with one of the old windows on top to encourage germination...............