Apple Blossom and a little French Beauty!

My favourite time of year has to be Spring and early summer and in particular apple blossom time. Having grown up in a rural part of the country where apple orchards and 'blossom' trails were a seasonal feature, it's a  joy to have an old variety apple tree in our front garden.

Years of neglect meant we inherited a tree that was barely recognisable, in need of a prune and absolutely smothered in ivy. The 'family firm' soon set to work not long after our move and within a few days we'd uncovered a pretty tree and lovingly pruned her into shape - with a little expert help from my mum!

The following spring at 'Mole End' was cold and wet and the blossom a bit disappointing to say the least. Cold winds and rain soon blew the flowers away and the sound of buzzing bees conspicuous by their absence! What a shame....we would have to wait a whole year to see if our tree would fully recover.

Well....what a difference a year makes! Sunshine and warmth, a lot less rain and our little tree has come up trumps! Smothered in gorgeous fragrant blossom and buzzy bees busily going about their duty. Our local bird population has grown too - regular visits from nuthatches, blue tits, woodpeckers, robins, goldfinches, chaffinches, yellowhammers and of course our resident population of noisily chatty sparrows.

...and here is a photo of our tree in full bloom, enhanced by a visit from our friend Colin and his Citroen 2CV...don't they make a pretty pair??

Spring Time and April Showers

It's been a long wait during the winter months but Spring is definitely here at last together with some much needed April showers! Every day the hedgerows green up a little more and the Ash tree buds are just poised to burst into leaf. I've been busy planting up the borders with a variety of perennials, Skimmia Japonica, Hellebores, Foxgloves, a climbing Japonica and a lovely little plant called erythronium pagoda.

Early days yet and lots of gaps, but it's a start!

Our Tree Peony is doing really well, and having survived the winter and our pruning now has some promising looking buds on the top branches...not long now before we find out what variety it is!

Meanwhile...in the front garden a real treat....a little Clematis Alpina growing amongst the Ceanothus - delicate sprays of gorgeous blue flowers peek through the leaves and brighten up a shady corner.

Meanwhile, the apple tree is slowly coming to life too but mother thinks this one is a biennial variety which means we may not get blossom! :( Now that  would be a real disappointment.... so I'm hoping that for once mother is wrong and that we will soon have a tree in glorious bloom. The Jury is out on this one....only time will tell!