garden withoutdoors

I have never seen these tulips in bloom so early. This weather is crazy. The ceanothous is also about to burst into bloom.

I had blooms from these Viola Floral Powers (left) very early last year and this year they're blooming already. I continue to be impressed by them.

I planted some lupins late last summer from seed I collected from some in my garden (grown from purchased seed) and was pleased with a good germination rate. Unfortunately the slugs decimated the seedlings. This spring I was so happy to see them coming back from that - until the squirrels got to them! No matter how many nuts I put out they still damage my plants. The middle one on the left looks dead but the other four look like they might just survive if I can keep the slugs off them after I plant them in the ground.

I was so excited to finally have a frog in my pond. I don't know if he found his way there or if he hatched from the last spawn I put there (about 2 years ago?) and I just never saw him before. He was out the other day when it was sunny and he came out to bask in the sun for a while. The last two days have been cloudy and he hasn't been out.

I love squirrels. They are SO cute but wreaking havoc in the garden. I planted bulbs last autumn to have a bulb ladder this spring but the squirrels ate all the crocus and tulips so only the muscari and narcissus tete-a-tete are left.

These muscari are beautiful: fat ripe flowers and intense colour. The muscari I forced indoors which bloomed in December weren't nearly so vibrant. They were so unnoticeable I didn't even take a photo of them.

The sky was so blue that day. The combination of the purple flowers, the green of that shrub in the background and the blue sky was beautiful.

I had the idea to put these pots on an old wooden ladder but the squirrels, aside from eating half the bulbs, would have knocked them off. The narcissus pot on top is too big for them to knock off although they've already knocked off the middle one.

The plant stand on the right is more secure so they can't knock anything over. The pots in the middle are my lupins which the slugs half destroyed last autumn but now that they are off the ground away from them, they are growing again. I'm hoping the frog(s) will eat the slugs now. This past winter wasn't cold enough for long enough to kill the slugs. The previous winter was great as I didn't have slugs for weeks in the spring. It really gave the plants a chance to get going.

I've also seen a fox a few times recently after not seeing one for a while and lots of cats. Two new ones have moved in recently, added to the existing ones, sometimes there are 5 cats in the garden - it's great as I love cats. And Pussycat is enjoying the warmer weather.

I decided not to buy any seeds this year as I tend to go a bit mad buying too many and I still have enough left from last year to keep me busy. I also find I get better results when I grow less and look after them better. When I have too many I easily fall behind looking after them.

In reviewing what I currently have, these are my seeds:

Allium - collected from plants I grew last year

Cerinthe - collected from plants I grew last year

Chichory

Chilli

Chives sow March to May

Cress

Devil's Bit Scabious

Foxglove sow April to July

Greater Knapweed

Hollyhock - collected from plants I grew last year

Lesser Knapweed

Pansy Colossus Neon Violet - Unwins Gro-Sure sow February to August

Snapdragon - collected from plants I grew last year

Sunflowers - collected from plants I grew last year

Tomato - Thompson and Morgan Berry F1 Hybrid sow February to April

Viola Floral Powers sow February to March

Viper's Bugloss

He appeared this morning. I've never seen him before.