The last day of February.

Towards the end of last week we had a day with not too much rain,

 so we thought we'd make a start by visiting the garden centre.

We took advantage of the special offers on these bags of terreau.

Which we will need for the new flower beds.

However it's been far to wet to do any digging, 

so I've just been tidying up and snipping a bit here and there.

This blue glazed pot was used for an outside Christmas decoration.

I was ready to pull everything out but I hesitated 

as some of the pieces had started to root.

Don't know if it's due to the amount 

of rain and very little frost,

but I'll be leaving them

for awhile to see

what happens.

If they grow we could have some more Skimmia
like this, as this is the shrub I cut them from.

The Pieris is very early to flower this year'

this one is Forest Flame
I have three Pieris not sure which variety the others are.
.

The winter flowering Erica has grown very leggy,
It was fighting for the light, until I did some severe pruning.

When we came to live here a French lady who is now a friend

 gave me a few tiny rosettes of this plant.

She told me to tuck them into the cracks of a wall, and I would 

have the plant for life. Since then I have walls and pots full of them, 

and I'm always giving them away. I have since found out the name

which is Sempervivum and I've heard it called the Hen and chic plant.

It's reproducing rosettes all the time.

 I'd forgotten all about this plant Aucuba Japonica'Variegata'
It was hidden behind some Photinia, which have grown so big
this poor thing was being smothered, I'd rescued it last year,
 look at it now, the leaves all shiny and healthy, with lots of berries.

These miniature daffodils where planted in this part of the garden a few

 years ago and with a little tidying every now and then, it looks after itself. 

It joins the farmers field, so it's always full of wild flowers which I leave.

I also put some Buddleia cuttings a friend gave me and now they are massive 

If Buddleia is not pruned back each year, before you know it the shrub

 will become a tree. So the secateurs will be working hard 

this next week. Come rain or shine.

Can you see all the wild flowers already growing here?

they will fill in when the daffodils are past their best.

Looks like it's creeping buttercups shooting up there.

Further along the bank,wild violets are growing,

there were a lot more until the mouse popped out from this hole

I think he must have damaged the roots, with all the digging.

Each morning Mr France replenishes the bird table with a mixture of seeds
he then scatters some seed around this mouse hole. I've been trying my hardest
to catch him on camera, but he pops in and out so quickly.

Well after lots of patience I finally managed to get a few shots of him 

As you can see, not a lot of gardening has been done.
But I hope you liked following me around the garden
catching up on some progress I've been able to make.


Hopefully next time, weather permitting I should have lots to show you,

I have new roses to plant and one to move from last year.
which didn't like where it was. A new home needs to be found for it.


I see from some of the blogs I read some of you still have lots of snow.
What a strange winter this has been.
 I'm sure you are all looking forward to Spring.
I'll be back soon showing the progress in my garden.

à bientôt

Barbara Lilian