The Sun Has Got His Hat On . . .

Hip hip hip hooraaaaaaaaaaaayyyyy . . .

After having rain, rain & yet more rain, which seemed to last FOREVER, it was lovely to have a BEEE-OOO-TEE-FUL day today :o)

I took advantage of the sun & managed to finish planting out the veggies. Although they're still quite small, I now have everything I sowed in the greenhouse out in the veg patch.  If it all grows - & survives the snail attacks - I shall have a lovely supply of fresh salad & veggies for summer & autumn. Any surplus will be put in the freezer to see us through the winter.

I also made up some pots with marigolds, pansies, gazania, cornflowers & Scottish wildflowers. I've still got loads of pots to sort out - get rid of weeds & old compost etc., but they'll have to wait for another sunny day AND some new compost.  I feel a trip to the garden centre coming on :o))

Everything is so green & lush after the rain & wandering around the garden, I took some photos that show  Mother Nature doing what she does best.

 Apple blossom on my cooking apple tree - pale pink & white, so delicate & beautiful.

 Bluebells, which seem to get more abundant each year. I don't know where they came from, but about 3 years ago, I discovered a couple of plants that hadn't been there before. Now, I have clumps all over the garden !!

 I love the colour of this wallflower - it's like peaches & cream :o)

I've had some lovely coloured tulips this year - vivid red, yellow, orange, deep pink & this beautiful red & cream colour. Planting bulbs in the rockery with Grandson 1a last autumn really paid off this spring :o)

Aquelegia - one of my all time favourite flowers :o) When this lot are all open, it will be the most glorious sea of colour, from cream to lemon, from the palest pink to deep pink & from burgundy to a purple that's so deep, you'd think it was black. 

 My veg plot :o)  It's chock-a-block with courgettes, runner beans, lettuce, onions, leeks, turnips, carrots, swede, radish, beetroot, spring onions, cabbages, parsnips, peppers & tomatoes. I hope the peppers & tomatoes do OK - I've only ever grown them in the greenhouse before, so this is a bit of an experiment :o)

  This year, I've planted the veg closer together, in the hopes that it will help keep the weeds down. I don't really expect it to work, but I live in hopes :o)  In a couple of months or so time, I'll be able to start harvesting the fruits (& veg !!) of my labour. Can't wait !! There is nothing better than eating your own homegrown produce - the taste really is much better than that bought from supermarkets & the good thing is, you don't really have to have a big plot of land. For example - salad crops can be grown in pretty much anything, even window boxes :o)

The raspberries, blackberries, red currants, blackcurrants & loganberries are really coming along. If the crop I get this year is anything like last year, I'll be happy :o)  The rhubarb is surrounded by raspberry canes that burrowed underground, but I leave them for the birds. That way, we all get to sample the fruit :o)

We're still officially in drought, here in the south east, but I hope we start to have nicer, sunnier days.  Farmers & gardeners need the rain, but we also need the sun & warmth to help our gardens grow :o)

I hope it's lovely wherever you are :o)  Have a great weekend.