Signs of Spring

Eventually winter has succumbed to Spring. We have had a fortnight of sub zero temperatures and the odd flurry of snow. I shouldn't be surprised because it is the norm for January and February, but I have been frustrated. I have germinated lots of seeds with the aid of the underfloor heating. However once they have germinated the central heating is too hot for them. So I moved them to the salon where it is cooler but oh dear not enough light there. We've ended up with plants in the dining room, salon, landing and even in the newly redecorated bedroom. That is currently full of pelargoniums, although I have 75 more to pot on. I am thrilled because the system of over wintering them which I found on the internet seems to have worked. Basically they are stored bare rooted upside down in a paper bag and left wrapped up in a duvet in the porcherie. Better than falling over 200 pelagroniums in the bedroom all winter!!

Enough of the gardener's frustrations as all that changed yesterday. The wildlife told us that it's Spring. A red squirrel (with a black tail) was bouncing through the trees in the alley. A blackbird keeps attacking a black plant pot in the courtyard, presumably he thinks it is a rival. We're going to buy a new pot - different colour - to put him out of his misery. The magpies are building nests and all the other little birds are pairing. We have seen the deer family most mornings and evenings during the cold spell but yesterday at 2 o'clock in the afternoon a young doe was sauntering across the back field and remained around the hamlet for the next hour. She was not phased by us working in the garden, the traffic noise or dogs barking. She needs a bit of education.