I finally managed to get out  into the garden this week, the girls were at nursery, the rain held off, the sun shone and gave me a peaceful afternoon in the garden. So where to start?

Well, officially we're in a drought.  I know, I know, as soon as the water companies cry "drought!" it rains as if we should be building an ark or sharing a bath. But as there is still a hose pipe ban and there's going to be one until the end of summer no matter how many animals start knocking at your door asking to come in, I've decided to hold off ordering any new plants and give the garden the summer to show me what it's got.  That's not to say that I'm not going to start designing and rearranging, oh no I couldn't sit that still on a project. 

I'm missing my peace pod, I mean my greenhouse. It is sitting forlornly in pieces beside the shed. I know where it is going to go in the garden, at the back right corner beside the hedge. It will get the morning sun but should miss the extreme heat of the afternoon, so everyting inside will warm up but not fry.  At the moment that area is, pile of bricks covered in ivy, weeds (including some brambles grrrr) and lots and lots of rampant strawberries. 

Wellies on, check; gloves on, check; garden tools, check. 

As I merrily got stuck in clearing the weeds (not quite whistling while I worked but along those lines) I came across a concrete slab lying on the ground. Some old brambles were growing up beside it, so I stuck in my fork, dug down, gave it a wiggle and a twist and a heave. But as you may know brambles are a bugger to lift,  so I got down on my knees and lifted the heavy  concrete slab on one side. I came face to face with two little wood mice.  I looked at them, they looked at me, and scarpered!  I then looked down and to my horror realized that I had disturbed their nest and there under the slab were a mass of squirming little babies, very young and not much hair. As soon as I saw them I quickly but gently returned the slab to its place and backed away. 

a wood mouse, not my mouse they scarpered 

the mouse house, doesn't look like much but it's home

What to do now?  Well being the modern girl that I am I quickly googled "Do parent mice return to a nest if disturbed?".  Good news - yes. Bad news - if they're very scared the mother may eat the babies!  Argh!  I put down some bread and bird seed next to the slab in the hope that this would encourage the parents back.   Apparently the mother feeds them for 22 days, that sound so precise, so I will look again on 18th May, hopefully there will be nothing there. 

This post is turning into spring watch rather than garden with mother!  After getting over my wild encounter I decided to concentrate on the strawberries. There were lots of them and were further away from the mice.  As I have said previously the garden hasn't been tended for a good few years, do the strawberries needed splitting, removing the dead, foliage and replanting or composting.   With the hose pipe ban, (the reservoirs are low you know) I decided to plant the strawbs in trenches to ensure that what ever rain does fall is channeled directly to the plants for maximum watering.

the strawberries are scattered across this area, mostly at the back
those are my potato bags, I'll tell you about them later.

I started at the back of the strawberry patch away from the mice, and worked my way forward. I know have six trenches of strawberries, much to the excitement of Holly who can't wait until the flowers turn into strawberries with a little help from the bees. 

strawberry trenches 

There are still dozens of strawberry plants to move as over the years the adventurous plants have been sending out triffid like tendrils in the search for world domination.   Hopefully this drought induced rainfall will stop soon just enough for me to get back out there, (can't work in the pouring rain as too much trampling over wet soil can damage the structure of the soil).   

I'm hoping they will be ready in time for Wimbledon.   Bring on the double cream and champagne!

random photo of my unnamed espalier apple blossom
when it has fruited I'll try to do an ident on it.

White Triumphator Tulips, ivory white with a creamy yellow blush on opening,
a long lasting classic tuplip