My garden in February

I will make a monthly update of my garden, starting with this one, on February. Another one will follow at the end of the month, on March, of course.

The garden looks a bit bare from afar, but the things change when you take a closer look, which is lovely. I’ve planted some bulbs and most of them are starting to grow, the ones who were left behind by the naughty magpies. I don’t mind them having fun though, because I have fun watching them too.

The passiflora looks poorly in the back, but this is what it did each year, looks like it’s almost dead and then comes back bigger and bigger. I am not worried at all with it.

All three trees are starting to get back to life. I have a fig tree, an apple tree, and this cherry tree. Also the raspberry bush is starting to show its new leaves. It’s lovely to see that they have pulled through the winter, especially as it was their first winter in our garden. So, I’m very pleased with that.

I mentioned the new bulbs. I bought them on impulse and did not have the time nor the inclination to plant them outside. But, I did, quite recently, and they are starting to grow, which is great.

From the plants from last August, when we finished refurbishing the garden, the Alliums are starting to grow. I am very happy, as I loved them.

The poppies are starting to grow too. Their flowers were long lasting last year, so I thought I will get more this year, if the ones from last year did not make it, but this one did. I think it is still too soon to tell about the rest, as I imagine they will start growing.

I topped up all the raised beds with extra compost and this month I will add some food plant too.

Finally, the lawn, how it looks right now. When we bought the house six years ago, the first thing we did was to remove the concrete slabs from the garden, top with a bit of soil and sow some grass seeds. We just didn’t have enough time and money, to be honest, to do more than that. We had bigger things to do inside the house before we moved in, so the garden had some small improvements until last year, when, due to the lockdowns, we had the time and inclination to update it. It’s also when we realised how uneven the lawn was. With grass on top it was not visible to the eye, but it was obvious when we were walking and playing with Festus.

So, we’ve made a mix of compost and top soil and levelled the lawn. I’m not sure if that was the best approach, maybe it would have been better to use only top soil, but I went on instinct. With libraries closed and pressed for time, I didn’t have the opportunity to read on the subject. We levelled the lawn and scattered lots of seeds, which the pigeons are doing their best to eat. It’s not like we can do something about it, as these are the pigeons who know us very well, and they are not bothered by us, even if we are in the garden. So, short of working from the middle of the garden, I can’t do anything about these hungry birds. Their feeder is topped up, but, of course, freshly laid lawn seeds have a different taste if you are a pigeon looking for a snack.

In the end, we might need to go and buy some ready made turf, those grass rolls, and lay those down. At least the garden is levelled, which is something we had to do anyway.