All at once one day is spring...

And the next it back to winter but that's another story. I can confirm, it's finally happened, light nights and some warm days and a plethora of muscari and daffodils can't be anything other than spring.

This year there is great excitement in the garden. Back in autumn I planted two fritillaria imperialis bulbs in the hot border. A month ago one appeared like a little pineapple poking through the soil and just when I thought that only one was going to show, the other appeared and has quickly caught up, and as the flowers appeared that wonderful smell is evident in the warm days. I hope they will be happy enough in their location to reappear next year.

The biggest change is in the spring border though. All of a sudden the primroses have come into their own and under the tree the muscari and anemone mingle with the daffodils. The two birch trees are now around 10 foot tall. I probably won't let them get too much bigger but for now, with their new leaves gradually unfurling it seems that there is no stopping things now.

Last year I sowed the dahlia 'Bishops Children' from seed and had a few smallish plants that were ok but nothing to write home about. I understand that Bishops Children is usually grown as an annual as to survive the winter dahlia really need to have developed tubers but I wondered if I could over-winter them. So, I left a couple of plants in the ground and had three in pots that I put into the greenhouse. The ones in the garden just pulled out dead when I started the end of winter clear up but this week I decided to check on the ones in pots at the stems still felt firm, but I do have a bit of a problem with vine weevil. I turned the first one out and couldn't believe my eyes, it's created a number of big firm tubers! It got potted on and watered...fingers crossed that it comes away and forms a substantial plant this year.

Another observation this year is just how clear the fish pond is. When I decided to build a pond, keep fish and use only plants for filtration I was told I would need a five acre pond and five years till it became established. Well my pond is about six foot long by four foot wide, has five gold fish and cleared about August/September last year. I fully expected it to green up again this spring as the sunlight became stronger, which the single cell algae love but when I looked back on pictures from this time last year the difference is astounding. Last April it was like pea soup! This year, not only is the pond looking clear and the plants well established, but its now been colonised by frogs, newts and toads along with a host of other aquatic creatures. It's always worth going out after dark with the torch and having a peak at what the pond life is all up to. Its lovely to hear the toads chirping away on a mild spring evening.