The slight improvement in the weather brought a welcome stream of visitors and family today – hello especially to the London and Manchester Flears who braved the cold and warmed up the tea room wonderfully with laughter and family tales. And another warm ‘hello’ to several people who mentioned the blog. I write this blog for myself, for gardeners everywhere (and for my Dad, who phones me up if I don’t post for a week, just to check if I’m still ticking), so it’s nice to know that people do find it and enjoy it.

It’s also great to hear visitors say that the nursery looks better, so for those of you too far away to come, or who prefer the virtual experience, here’s how the outdoor part of the nursery looks now. There’s lots of space for the new plants which I’ll bring out of the tunnels when this cold spell passes, but it does look smart and much more practical for plant management too, I hope. The black mesh screens are windbreaks and the plants are now on capillary fabric (mypex) instead of gravel which should reduce watering problems.

This is how it looked just over a year ago.

Anyway, with the long weekend over, I can take a day off tomorrow. I think I might visit a nursery, or sow some seeds, or do a bit of planting, or sit under the cherry tree and read a book…

March 24, 2008