Cleared out the old seed heads and some weeds- but there is still a lot to do. Thinking of moving the hellebores to the raised bed by the patio so we can see them more easily and from the house. Also planning to add more herbs and plants which need the sun as this is likely to be a hot bed in the Summer.

I thought we had a series of stepping stones- turns out it is a more extensive path. Not exactly pretty , but gives the garden more ‘structure’. It is probably very old as it appears in some very old photographs we have of the place and it is quite low comparison with the surrounding grass.

In the woods at the end of the garden

Under the trees halfway down.

Under the weeping beech tree

Under the birch near the house on the right hand side.

Just wanted to remember where they are.

Made my very first sowings of the season to go in the heated propagator. I have sown tomatoes, jalepeno chilli peppers, aubergines and sweet peppers. Not sure how much space I will have in the greenhouse and I  may have overdone it. Also sowed agapanthus seed as an experiment.

Also planted some supermarket ginger in pots to go on the bathroom windowsill until the greenhouse is warmer- another permaculture experiment.

One of the best things about he snowfall last night is that I can see who has been visiting. It really showed just how many animals call our garden home- the rabbits had clearly been all over the place running in circles and criss-crossing the field. I also saw the footprints of a badger near to the woods and a fox in the field area:

I always wanted a garden that would be a home to wild animals and have gardened with that in mind. However, before I have done anything in this garden it is bursting with wild animals. In the last few days we have seen; a pheasant, rabbits, a rat, numerous garden birds including jays, woodpeckers, tits and finches. My difficulty now is when I consider my planned vegetable patch. How to keep all the hungry animals like rabbits and rats away from my veg while supporting the more beneficial ones? Looks like I will need lots of fences as I don’t want to lose the wild animals altogether because I love watching them- but I would also like to eat some of my own carrots and lettuce.