Birds, Bees and Seedlings

We’ve been enjoying a spell of warm, sunny weather lately, which has meant we’ve been spending lots of time out in our garden.

I risked sowing chilli seeds at the start of February, as always tricky to judge when the best time to start them off is as they need a long growing season but seedlings raised on my windowsills tend to go leggy as they stretch towards the sun on East and West facing windows, before transferring them to the greenhouse.

I sowed pumpkin, squash, courgette and sunflower seeds in the middle of April, and I’ll plant them out in June – which will probably bring a month of rain and a plague of slugs knowing my luck. My husband has also started off lots of tomato seedlings, and we spent an afternoon at the weekend pricking out and repotting them. The greenhouse is currently full of seedlings and plants as we’re always ridiculously optimistic about how much we can grow in our garden.

There was blossom on three of our four apple trees, unfortunately the other has grown several water spouts from the trunk, which is usually a sign of stress or a failed root graft. Our plum tree also had two little flowers on it earlier in the spring.

In the flower beds, the tulips and daffodils have died back but the Geum and Thistle have flowered, and I always enjoy counting and identifying the bees that have been crawling all over them.

We got a bird house for Christmas and affixed it to the side of the house, soon after a pair of blue tits moved in and I love watching them flit back and forth to feed their chicks while I’m working in the greenhouse.

May is often a month of anticipation marking the gentle transition from spring to summer, and it’s been lovely to spend so much time outside. Even when we have very little to show for our efforts, gardening brings us a tremendous amount of joy. Have a lovely week. X

13 thoughts on “Birds, Bees and Seedlings

  1. It’s all so lovely, isn’t it a wonderful time of year? Your plants look great, it’s mandatory for gardeners to be ridiculously optimistic! 😉 Lots of good food to come, I’m sure . . . and if you do get a month of rain, please send some this way!

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  2. Lovely pictures! Best of luck with the seeds! I am doing giant sunflowers, bush tomatoes and sweet peppers this year. The peppers are one last go, because they have never worked out well yet.

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  3. You have the most lovely way of describing life and I feel like I am right there in Scotland in the garden with you. What beautiful imagery. We are in the middle of moving house so it feels very strange to not be out gardening! But where we are moving, things grow wonderfully, so I am looking forward to not gardening in the desert anymore! Happy spring!

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    1. Thank you, that’s such a kind comment, made my day. Where we live is the wettest city in the UK so I can’t imagine living in a desert! I hope the move goes smoothly and wish you every happiness in your new home. 😊

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  4. A lovely set of garden pictures, especially the Blue Tit. Once we settle down and buy a forever house, I look forward to designing and establishing a garden. Some for flowers, some for food and a place just to potter I think!

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