Spring time

Budburst

Spring. It’s been pretty cold so far, and very, very wet, but we are definitely in the first throes of spring. The daffodils are up, beaming their cheerful yellowness all over the place.

The last of the crocuses and delicate miniature irises begin to fade. It has been a stunningly good year for crocuses.

In the orchard

The pear trees in our orchard have very swollen buds which look almost ready to burst into blossom.

Our orchard trees are looking especially good this year. In February we had a fantastic orchard training session for our volunteers with local resident and orchard specialist Caroline Cupitt. Caroline showed us how to properly shape our trees, through pruning, but also by temporarily tying down branches into better positions. If you see bits of string and bike-tyre tied to our fruit trees, that’s what this is!

In the garden

This time of year, Tilly, from the grounds team and the resident expert on horticulture, starts looking around in the garden trying to remember exactly where the dormant plants are hiding under the soil. Some are already pushing up their first leaves, some won’t be seen for a couple of months. These fresh new shoots are tender and vulnerable, so gardening during this period requires we look carefully before we place our feet. It’s a bit tricky, but also feels full of happy anticipation of all the growth to come.

Birds

On rainy days when there are very few people in the garden, the birds take over and fill the garden with their song. We have a nesting blackbird who is eating her way through all the ivy berries, and a busy wren who has made a nest in a very nice sunny spot our plant nursery. We are very happy to share the garden with these feathery residents, and make sure our work disturbs them as little as possible.