either the garden is taking over the house, or the house is taking over the garden...........the dining-room repainted has now become the garden room and intensive care unit. there has been much re-potting and tidying, and it looks rather nice. by one of those serendipitous things, i found exactly the kind of chair i wanted upstairs in the spare room...........no idea where it came from but it looks just right. the windowsill is now kitted out with trays, and full of seedlings. the plan is to keep the summer bulbs indoors until it's very much warmer..........i've gone wrong before by putting things out too soon, spring it may be, but it's still pretty cold. however.....the freesias are off and running....and the Marvel of Peru.............how could anyone resist growing something called Marvel of Peru? - but i've never actually managed to see what they look like. there is a begonia bulb and a lily bulb sulking in pots, hopefully to provide some indoor flowers..........and the giant begonia is now in an enormous china pot and has had several more babies in the process.
...........raising seeds for two gardens is quite an undertaking and a bit experimental...........but only the gypsophila have completely failed to make it. everything else has at least come up, so far so good..........my tomatoes are doing brilliantly and even the chillies came up after a long pause.........
..........outside the bulbs are blooming................it looks rather nice and more things that i thought were dead are surging into life...........catmint for the cats to chew and throw up on the carpet........and certainly something happening where the lemon balm was..........the black peppermint is beginning to sprout, and even the Himalayan poppy turns out not to be defunct after all..............no sign of the corydalis though, i'm sure it was around by this time last year.........the yellow buttercup "Brazen Hussy" is doing its thing and spreading like mad..........i've planted the mystery Hopetoun rose and moved the Choisya, this is its last chance...........put in some Kaffir lilies and a spirea from Mum's garden.........moved the hebe from under the rose and the lavender too............planted bog iris in the mini-pond........two ivies in pots for contrast...........both the chaenomeles are doing well, and the new clematis was not destroyed by slugs after all, or at least not yet............
............veg-wise the onions are in, and the potatoes are chitting in the downstairs toilet. the salads are sprouting nicely in the raised bed, and amazingly, the Hanging Gardens of Trinity have started to sprout again of their own accord!.............planted garlic beside the mystery rose, and the strawberry is also still alive............