As the wind howls and spreads debris round the garden, I am reminded that last week when it was sunny I picked up some bits at wilkos and splurged on a few mail order seeds. (I know it was on a reduced price and I need to start using the greenhouse for growing new things!

I also have some other things stashed in the greenhouse already and I’m hoping I’ll have some energy after a few hours at ENT for my daughter today. I looked at the letter this morning and it said be prepared for a three-hour appointment. Oh joys!

Hence the blog of hope? I also watched gardening programmes on the telly box last night and I still dream of someone doing a magic spell so the garden can change from ramshackle to tidy. Last night I discovered the felt had blown off a shed and I harboured brief dreams that we would replace said shed. But a good hammer stepped in.

It’s only February after all. Too early to throw in the towel but weeds are stepping in where they aren’t wanted. I need to speak to some gardeners locally and get some advice. The path of sand and grit on one garden makeover made me laugh inwardly when I wondered how they’d keep cats off. We have our lovely doggie now to warn off intruders (squirrels) but the builders sand we have left won’t cover the area needing hidden.

It was a really violent storm but nothing blew out of the garden…

We were lucky this time – we didn’t have to go down the street to find stuff. The greenhouse held firmer than our last one! And this morning we have tiny daffodils…

I have lots of things to plant. Some seeds from Sarah Raven arrived and I bought some rhizomes in Wilkos. The garden is taking on a different palette all the time but I have more energy to tell you about it than do any physical work. I am fighting off a sickness bug (not Coronavirus) that everyone in the house has had. I hope it’s on it’s way too.

I spent a good few hours filling up the green bin with lots of leaves and cut twigs that have been covering the grass beside the compost bins.

My helper built a tepee which I hope doesn’t take off with the storms threatened for the night – well it was forecast and we lost a greenhouse when the last storms occurred… That was our thinking by taking any detritus and securing as much as we can.

Our garden will definitely have a different palette than last year as evident already in bulbs coming through. Dandelions not welcome here!

That was early! Cake and stuff! Really early on a February morning… she arrived at about that time 13 years ago and the cactus is appropriate for the grumpy moments…

And I went back to bed…

A Star Wars cake was requested but Spider-Man was accepted… phew! It was low on my list so not ordered in time.

And I have got tickets to an outing to Harlow Carr and RHS garden staying in Harrogate. My gardening adventures are starting…

It’s the coldest day in weeks but look what I found…

I found the following blooms and a few of my arch nemesis. The argument now says if I have snowdrops and cowslips, I don’t need to leave the dandelions? There are pollinators – the daffodils are showing through too, it won’t be long – the dandelions aren’t in bud yet but we have definite cowslip blooms to feed the insects…

I’m gonna do it (exterminate! exterminate!) over the next couple of days. I will set to dandelion extermination with gusto!

I am feeling excited by how much of what is coming through is of my devising – snowdrops were never here in year 1 or 2 – rather than past inhabitants of our sweet little cottage.