this is my best side.............

so besides photographing the frogs i have actually done some gardening............most of the stuff in the greenhouse is now out. the French tarragon and i are having a bit of a battle of wills, it doesn't seem entirely happy and i'm not sure what to do to cheer it up, it certainly didn't like being outside so it's in the greenhouse and seems a bit better, but not doubt spends the night along with the Thai basil lamenting how bloody cold it is in Scotland and why can't it go back to France.................
chinese forget-me-not out in the annual bed, no doubt to be forgotten and stood on accidentally or dug up by the cats. busy Lizzies into pots, sweet peas in the ground, sunflowers at the back of the perennial bed. tomato plants into tubs, climbing French beans by the door, although if they take the same attitude as the tarragon we can forget eating any beans i think...........one courgette in a container, just to see. canna lilies outside...............i don't think it's warm enough for them here but they've never flowered in the greenhouse so we'll see how they get on.............have thrown some coreopsis seeds in the ground, we tried them in the greenhouse last year and they were abysmally slow, no point in saving them i don't think so they might as well be in the ground and take their chances, Cosmos ditto..........everything watered, and hoping for some more of this good weather.................

the Welsh poppies and Lysimachia "Firecracker", the poppies are volunteers but have placed themselves very nicely to show off their contrasting colours...........

the organic rose, just as beautiful this year as last..........

diascia, so pretty.............

Norma's rose

ths s the same view of the annual bed as last month..........the catmint much bigger, the rose now out and all the cornflowers and sweet peas coming up..............note patio apple in its pot, just finished flowering.........

wildlife photographer of the year..........not..........

finding the frogs has of course been terribly exciting, and we are as determined to take their pictures as they are not to have them taken. i have put in a nice bit of dead wood for them as a posing platform, but they prefer to lurk in the undergrowth or under the water with just their noses showing. Kitski also likes to lurk in the undergrowth, but possibly for a different reason.............today is very hot, and Katisha is out cold in the sun and not doing any type of lurking at all. the lawn is growing very fast, and the first paeony is out. so is the organic rose, and Norma's rose is flowering for the first time, beating the orange patio rose by some distance. the Greek cress has started to come up already..............no idea what Greek cress is but i gather it's something to eat so will be joining the salad party...............
the Oriental poppies are way behind this year, usually they've flowered and finished by this time, however they have loads of flower buds so the slower start doesn't seem to have done them any harm. i've put the Cerinthe seedlings in the perennial bed, after moving the potentilla, which has already started to produce its very pretty blood-red flowers. the sweet rocket took extreme umbrage at my attempts to tie it up and quite a lot of it died, but the lower clump is still thriving, so i've trimmed the dead bits off the upper clump, it clearly wants to do its own thing and lie along the ground so i've let it, and it looks very pretty, pure white against mum's yellow spirea and the purple dragon-wing plant............. i also moved a little clump of something growing at the front, may be weeds but did look a bit intentional, although i have no idea what it might be. anyway it's now at the back beside the lilies...............a few self-seeded sunflowers have appeared too, and their greenhouse friends will soon be coming to join them.........

right in front of the coconut shell is a little pair of bulgy eyes...........

Yes there really is a frog in this video, if you look carefully you can see a wee slimy nose............they were not co-operating with having their pictures taken, but there are at least four and possibly more. We are thrilled, after Kitksi ate their mum and dad last year we thought there would be no froglets this spring and certainly couldn't see any spawn, but there they are all splooshing about............hope to get some better photos later............

Veggie blitz.............

Beautiful warm sunny day. Much pottering. Have mowed the lawn twice because it didn't look any different the first time..............maybe need to set the blades lower..........Carrie planting out the small veg, sweet beetroot seedlings, sugar snap peas, rainbow chard, plus sweet peas and sunflowers. i've put the potatoes in their barrel and put in some more salads. first organic rose just out............have rescued the diascia from the pot by the pond and put it in beside the delphinium. mulched the container plants and fed the fruit. planted out the marjoram. cumin looking a bit unhappy but i don't know what it's supposed to look like at this stage.............

PS

thanks you and goodbye to the purple sprouting broccoli. it was fantastic. so tender and tasty............welcome to the rhubarb, still a bit skinny but also tasty..............and thanks for your efforts to the volunteer nasturtiums in the veg bed, nice try but that isn't where you live, you'll be much happier in the window box trust me..............

red lettuces in the veg bed. note also giant chard which has been there all through the winter............

tamed catmint..............annual seedlings and volunteer Shirley poppies.........

the lilac tree. i must admit the description "dwarf lilac" seems a little misleading..........but as long as it's happy.........

Angi's bay tree and friend. note carrot seedlings in the tub just developing tiny leaves...........

Lilac time

Flowering madly, and great wafts of perfume in the garden which is lovely.............showery weather but not cold and some sun so everything really bursting out and growing fast. the organic rose and the paeony are just about to flower but the oriental poppies are lagging a bit this year and we even have one or two daffs still going. lots of borage coming up everywhere it's not supposed to be so i've moved some out of the annual bed........the new potentilla has a flower, deep red, very pretty. in the greenhouse the salads have now moved outside, some red lettuce into the veg bed and some in a pot, and i've planted some cucumber seedlings. new bay tree from Angi in a nice square terracotta tub looking very elegant. have tried to tame the catmint to leave room for the sweet peas which are all ready to go out..................the basils are very slow, but it has been quite cool, ditto the marjoram and busy lizzies.
front garden has gone completely mad, to think i once thought nothing would grow there...........once the bluebells have finished there will be some tidying to do, but not yet, it's all too pretty at the moment................

corner by the pond looking pretty, Mum's spirea, Welsh poppies, persicaria and lemon balm

sugar snap pea "Sugar Bon".............mmmmm, those were lovely last year, hope they do OK.......plus volunteer bit of wild garlic

the veg bed. radishes in front; spinach and chard in the middle; sugar snap pea at the back, yum, and the artichoke trying to get in the picture........note cat-proof cage!

perennial bed. new potentilla beside the tree peony and new rudbeckia "Irish Eyes" at the back, also fennel, sweet rocket and euphorbia. oriental poppies not out yet.

annual seedlings just starting to come up. also many weeds.................

delphinium again

runner beans and parsley in their barrel. delphimium in its slug-proof (we hope) pot. beans were slow to get going last year but when they did zoomed right up to the roof and produced loads of beans, so here's hoping.........

the herb area - note lovely chives (with flowers) and rescue rose (v grateful)

look at all this beautiful salad..............rocket, lettuce x 2 and Chinese cabbage......

seedlings in the greenhouse

I'll be with you in apple-blossom time..............

which is now. very pretty, the three patio apples in their pots are all flowering, and the cherry at the front. the front garden is positively verdant, it's obviously decided it doesn't want to be paving so stuff is growing everywhere and it looks rather nice. a small cherry tree is sprouting by the front door, i guess we'll have to pull it out in case it undermines the foundations but it isn't doing any harm for now...........
greenhouse seedlings well away and we are now eating fresh salad ever day, soon be time to move the salads outside. carrots and parsley sprouting, basils off to a slow start but appearing at last, and for the first time the cumin as well. damned lovage back again and we also seem to have a mutant variegated borage seedling in the herb bed................
annuals in the warm bed sprouting, lots of weeds too but easier to pull once they're bigger..........some self-sown Shirley and Welsh poppies have appeared, and a clump of honesty in the wild wood. Epimedium very pretty this year with yellow flowers, but the Cystis much slower to flower than usual. have planted some more lilies for summer flowers against the wall. the Dame's Violet is back, a bit frostbitten but ready to flower...............not sure that the Passiflora has survived after all though, no sign of anything happening which is a bit sad........
bought some new things at Redhall, a potentilla with silvery leaves which i think will have red flowers, and a Rudbeckia "Irish Eyes" - in honour of the ancestors! a delphinium too which we're keeping in a container to try and slug-proof it, i've never succeeded in growing them but the flowers are so pretty....................
paeonies just about ready to come out..........and maybe even the one at the front, which has *never* flowered............that would be exciting. we will certainly have blackcurrants this year; the rhubarb is up and we've eaten the first of it, strawbs are looking healthy, gooseberries have tiny fruit forming, and there are even figlets on the tree................