The first week in May is usually the date in the gardening calendar which we, (in the south of England) really look forward to.  Our greenhouses are bursting with plants that we desperately want to get out into the garden to make room for our tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines to be planted in their final places inside the greenhouse.  Even my kitchen table at home has become a seed nursery and dinner is now on trays. The Dahlias that we have overwintered in the garden with a good covering of fern mulch to protect against the worst of the winter weather and frozen soil, are still covered up, but we can see the new foliage peeping through.

There have been rumours, given we had such a mild winter, that we have seen the last frost until October.  Whilst it has been very cold still at night, and I know we are only half way through April, I made the executive decision this week to remove the mulch and expose our treasures to the elements.  Half our Dahlia stock was dug up last October, divided, potted up and left in the shed.  These too are showing new growth, so we have had a week of popping them back in their final growing positions. Digging some up in the winter is a great opportunity to plant them somewhere else each year for a change.  A bit like moving the furniture!

Mother goose had already done some of the job for us as we caught her on her clutch of eggs in the corner of our garden.  A great surprise for all of us, as we haven’t had geese here before.