2025/11 - Getting ready for Spring

 All of a sudden our weather changed from the usual dank, grey, dreary stuff to lovely sunshine during the day and frosty nights with a gorgeous waxing moon and 7 planets in a row.

My mini greenhouse

   Obviously a sudden and immediate urge to start gardening came over me, but...those frosty nights! So I compromised and sowed some Cosmos seeds in my mini greenhouse at home. The seedlings are shooting out of the ground!

   This morning at 06.10 we spotted a field owl flying from the cover of the trees along the old football grounds towards the ramparts. It always gladdens my heart to see or hear an owl. I grew up with a family of screetch owls in the hollow willow tree next to my bedroom, so I have a fondness for owls, any owls. They nestled there for years.

I tidied up a part of Hunky Dory already. My Hydrangeas got a trim, I weeded the border along the greenhouse and took stock of how my many bulbs there are doing. I fear the tulips I planted there a year ago will not be as numerous as in 2024. But the 4 different kinds of narcisi are looking good, and the flag iris and day-lilies have survived.

I then decided to clean out the leaves and snot from the pond, and what did I drag up out of the depth? A salamander! I saw its spotted yellow/orangey belly in between the leaves I had left on the bank (I always do for a day, so the beetles etc can crawl back into the pond) and felt so guilty for disturbing it, that I quickly put it back into the water. Silly me! I should have taken a photo! But its cold, wet body gave me a shock, so it was back in the pond in a second. Anyway, I am very happy that it is living there!

It isn't much to look at, and I have a problem with that pesky grass that is trying to choke it, but still, I enjoy that frogless frog pond and gladly top it up every week. 

So: plans for the coming days is to start clearing the rest of the garden.

I hope the mice will leave my seeds alone this year!

I sowed cosmos, nasturtiums and calendula in plugs. But have kept back half of the seeds, just in case!

I will sow my salad greens tomorrow.

These were some of my tulips last spring. They were 'fresh' then. I left them in the ground...so I wonder what will come up.

This bumblebee flew from the lovely sunshine into the shade and was cold immediately. It did not stop long there, but flew back to the hellebore in the sun. I can relate. In the sunshine it is lovely, but in the shade you still need a coat.

One of the women I help with their Dutch told me she was amazed when she saw us Dutch throw off our wintergear at the sight of the first ray of sun, flock to the terraces and behave as if it is mid July. Hahahaha, yep. That's us. We usually are so tired of greyness and rain, that we celebrate every minute of sunshine we get. To illustrate, I'll finish with a sunny pic.

My day-lilies. I planted six more last autumn, so here's to them!

Have a lovely weekend, I hope you will get some sun too!

Renée Grashoff