Aaah deep Spring!

I love this time of year. Things aren't racing ahead and everything seems to suddenly become really green! 

I'm loving the pond at the moment- there's still a million tadpoles in there and on a sunny day we've seen plenty of frogs. The plant life is bursting to life as well!

The apple tree I planted last spring (too early- not realising there would be another frost- so last year it just sat in a huff!) but now- it's clearly very happy!

I have started to work back from the gate now and have covered that area in a weed preventative sheeting and bark. The gate area was just getting too bogged down with weeds it was getting very annoying climbing over them to get in and out! 

Another one of the Apple tree- I have a feeling we might get apples this year!

I'm also absolutely in love with the tulip zinc bath! How amazing do they look?!

Here is a closeup of the latest to open. The variety is called Artist- and you can see why!! I think they're amazing! I planted these ones lower than the purple ones in a hope that I'd get a longer tulip season- I think it's worked as planned as well, as the purple ones are just past their best now, just as these ones are opening! So perfect! I'll definitely do that again! 

Lots happening down on the plot...

Every Spring I take a walk around to an allotment that I know will be covered in tulips. And this year I was not disappointed! I don't know who owns the plot but it really is stunning and makes me smile every year!

I absolutely love tulips. They're one of my favourites (tulips and peonies are the top 2 for me) so I wanted to have my own on the plot.

So I was happy to see the other day when I turned up that the deep purples ones had all opened and looked stunning!! They really are so beautiful! 

A close up- no filter of any kind is needed for any of these photos as the natural colours are just so vibrant and beautiful. Definitely glad I went for the zinc bath idea! I'd love to plant tulip bulbs of all different colours around the grass area so they all come up together. These ones in the tulip bath I planted 2 different kinds, one kind (artist) slightly lower than these purple ones so they'll come up a little later!

I also had a pleasant surprise when I went to take a look in the pond! Last year I was given a little clump of Snakes Head Fritillary and planted it out by the pond. It didn't seem to last long before it died off so to be honest I wasn't holding out much hope for this year- in fact, I'd forgotten all about them! So despite the thick long grass around the pond, I was very happy to see it had managed to fight through again this year! 

My allotment is quite a sun trap though and the soil is a fairly thick clay soil so it does retain the rainwater really well, without getting all waterlogged- so I was also happy to see the alliums are already pushing out their flower buds.

I still make a beeline for the pond every time I get there. It doesn't get old at all! And it's different every time! There's still masses of tadpoles and everything is looking so healthy.

If you look at the last blog post you will see a photo of the marshmarrigold- and this photo is of it this week- so it's already putting out a lot more leaves and a lot more flowers! I love it! 

As well as having a jam packed greenhouse at the moment I've also got my windowsill in the house full of seedlings. The tomato seedlings are doing really well. I've got a lovely bunch of parsley and basil growing from seed, and the chillies and pepper seeds have recently come through as well!

After work the other day my husband and I went to the allotment and did a bit of work, including planting out the onions. Excited for this growing season to get underway!