welcoming 2014

2014 has been a good year so far. Plans and schemes, new shoes and some running, and today I popped out into the garden for the first time in weeks.

Surprisingly (to me) things are alive! The salad leaves in the mini greenhouse were eaten by slugs weeks ago, but the ones in the hanging colander are still going strong, despite our recent howling gales.

The garlic is growing nicely, which I’m very pleased about. This is the first time I’ve planted for a crop of something, rather than just one or two plants.

Greenhouse 1 (the vegetables) is holding steady – not much growth but most things still alive.

Greenhouse 2 (the flowers) has seen some losses, but some seedlings look like they might make it through the winter.

We had a lot of bird activity in our little garden last year, including blue tits nesting in the box above the front door.

They’ve already started investigating again, and I was hoping to sneak a peak before they settled. Sadly I’m not tall enough to see, even standing on the stepladders.

What I could see though was this little nest in the acer tree.

I’m not sure, but I think it might be a goldfinch nest. There were lots of goldfinches this year, sitting on the fence and in that tree, regularly flying back and forth. It’s a pretty little nest, although it’s already been blown about quite a bit. I hope they come back next year.

I’m so much looking forward to being in the garden this year. I have such exciting plans, and at this time of year, tucked up inside on a wintery night, I can delude myself that they are all achievable…

Advertisement