Holidays & gardening

...aren't particularly compatible.

I hate leaving my flowerbeds, kitchen garden and greenhouse at this time of year. Not only do I miss out on the wonder of seeing the garden change by the day, but everything's so tiny and fragile, the slightest drought/drench/heatwave/chill can really mess with my plans.

Luckily though everything survived, thanks to a few milder days and a very helpful friend.

The south-facing flowerbed was completely transformed into a vibrant jungle of tulips & perennials.

Lots of colour! Note the lime & calmondin trees out for a much-
needed dose of sunshine after almost two weeks of shady living.

Growth in the kitchen garden wasn't quite as overwhelming, probably due to the warm, dry weather. But it was all in need of a jolly good drink!

My lettuce babies have survived the slugs, but are looking a little parched!

The peas are looking nice and solid.

The yellow onions are doing really well... as are the weeds! Can you spot any
carrots in there??! Carrot fly has been a major problem, so this year I've planted
onions AND marigolds around them.

Potatoes! :D But still no sign of life in the asparagus bed.
I thought they would show first...?

There was a problem with the watering system in the greenhouse, but thanks to our friend Johan's determination (and stupidity - he stuck the v. v. grimy hose in his mouth to get the flow going again... bläääää!) it's all looking fabulous.

Beautiful blue (?) parrot tulips living in harmony with Jalastar capsicum annums.

It's time to plant the toms into the ground, but there's too much
going on, so they'll have to wait just a little longer.

First harvest! :D

Chicken salad (with shop-bought toms, of course).

Mixed emotions

It has been an exceedingly changeable month and it feels like it will never end, all this spring/winter/spring/winter weather. And I doubt I'm alone in wishing it would just get warm already.

Last week the raised beds were frozen solid and covered in snow.

Unbelievably, the first batch of radishes are growing well.

Snow drifts on my pea protection.

And yet yesterday the soil was lovely and warm, and a pleasure to dig about in with my bare hands.

As I said, changeable to say the least. And our moods, us gardeners, are greatly determined by the weather. This month it has felt like I've been riding an emotional roller coaster.

So tired was I of not being able to get on with my spring planting, that I threw caution to the wind and starting planting out lettuce seedlings.

Wonderful warm soil for my lettuce babies. You may notice that I'm
going for a pretty potager look this year, with patterns & flowers.

I stole the seedlings from my cut & come again patch in the
greenhouse (bottom right hand side) as there were plenty spare.

While on the subject of the greenhouse, I have to show you a close-up of these Spring Green tulips at the back of the greenhouse:

So elegant.

Exquisite Spring Green tulips.

They really bring a heartfelt smile to my face. I keep going back into the greenhouse to have another look at them...

As I said, my mood has been as changeable as the weather.