The air itself could feel it, there was a lightness, a new warmth and an energy in the sky. We have finally kicked February into touch and it can’t come back for a whole year, even if it wants to.  There are buds and little blossoms on the current bushes by the back door, and even the honeysuckle is sprouting.  The pots of hyacinths and tulips are growing taller by the day and the hens are laying, the sparrows are starting to build nests. I feel renewed. 

I met Jane on the allotment. I have transferred the strawberries from my first bed to join the others from last year which the birds ate altogether at the bottom. I can cover these all up hopefully. I dug over the strawberry bed 1 and pulled out the last of the pernicious buttercups from the bed.  Then we had a little bonfire of the old stalks and stems and debris from the angelica and lovage plants and the thorns from the berry bushes,.

I had spent the morning with my mother as we are going to sell her house and had the agent and the energy efficiency inspector in. A buzzard was circling slowly over the town, rising higher and higher until it disappeared into the blue. Mum, unfortunately can no longer look upwards, so missed this glorious simple pleasure.

I have started to set sweetpea seeds, late this year, but experimenting. Repotted a lot of greenhouse little pansies etc which have survived the winter but not grown much. I popped next door to deliver a misplaced piece of post and could see the DDD’s garden was full of really well grown wall flowers and sweet little iris plants. Her gardeners do everything so beautifully. 

Julia gave me some useful packets of seeds, including some exhibition peas and a big bag of daffs she had not yet planted. I have planted a few in the allotment in the middle of the herb bed, It will be a miracle if they get going this year but you never know.

You see, this post is actually mainly about gardening!