Springtime again!

Leo Tolstoy wrote in Anna Karenina “Spring is the time of plans and projects.”

And how very true that is. I am well behind on some of the projects I was meant to complete over winter.....as for my plans.....I think I may have to return to the drawing board and start again.

Spring has kind of happened while my back was turned. It seemed to be ages away and suddenly it's here and I am not ready.

I have made a start though.

I had planted a few seeds into trays and put them in the cold frames to be ready for planing out in Springtime. BUT the garden beds, at least some of them, are still in disarray.

I've managed to plant out a row of runner beans and a row of climbing French beans, but I had planned on having several other frames built and gardens weeded to maximize my bean crop this year.......lets just say that I am working on it.

I have however been busy splitting my strawberry plants and replanting them. I think at last count I have replanted somewhere in the region of over three hundred plants and there are still a few more clumps of plants to split.

My main problem at the moment, other than lack of time, is that no sooner do I weed and re-plant than the neighbourhood cats dig up my new plants and defecate in the holes they've created.

Rather frustrating to say the least. I will be paying a visit to Bunnings or Mitre 10 to buy more netting to hopefully keep the cats off the newly planted garden beds. Failing that I'm thinking ELECTRIC FENCES and a machine gun!

I do live in hope that the plants roots can gain a good enough hold on the soil to withstand being disturbed by my feline friends and bring me a bumper crop in summer.

The fruit trees are in bloom....a sure sign that Spring has sprung. The peach trees are a riot of pink blossoms and the plum of white.

There are marigolds in flower here and there, dotted around the veggie gardens and some of the winter plants are still doing well.

The celery, leeks and lots of leafy greens have thrived through our rather mild winter and are still growing well.....The downside is that the weeds have also thrived AND I have never seen so many snails and slugs around. Even the citrus trees have fallen foul of the snails with about a quarter of my lemons showing some damage to the skin.

I had planted a few peach pits into pots to see if they grew and most of them have and what were merely naked twigs over winter are now bursting out in the green of spring. So, I need to find somewhere to put some of them.....a friend will probably take the rest to add to their new orchard.

Similarly the raspberry canes are doing amazingly well and are covered in new growth. It won't be too long before we can once again savour the sweet yet slightly tart fruit of the raspberry. Again, we have a lot of new shoots coming through so I will be digging them up and transplanting in yet another row of raspberry canes. Last year we had about a hundred canes. This year we'll have maybe 50% more again.

Time waits for no man so I'd better bring this post to a close and get back out there weeding!

And of course our cat "Hector" is biding his time waiting for me to dig over some more garden.... so it makes it easier for him to dig.