I had a full day at the Plot and got a lot done, more by chance than design.  I’ve taken on a new under-gardener and it turns out he’s a willing labourer (yay!)  UG spent a few hours building a new compost bay to hold the fresh horse manure and then we made several trips to the heap, filling old compost sacks with manure and transporting back to the plot in the car.  The bay is now full but I suspect we will be able to top it up over the next few weeks before covering for 10 months.

I took advantage of the UG’s presence and goodwill by then collecting some mature manure as a mulch for this year’s brassica bed.  I’ve already mulched this area with compost but I think the plants need a bit more oomph.

While UG was busy outside, I retreated to the greenhouse for a potting-on session.

Should I pinch out the antirrhinums?  In other news, the larkspur seeds have finally agreed to germinate and play this year.

In between the hailstones showers, I walked around the plot checking on progress:

I have a flower bed at the front of the polytunnel.  The delphinium are doing well now I’ve protected them from curious, sharp beaks.  The sweetpea are self-sown; it’ll be interesting to see how early they bloom.

The roses responded well to their prune and mulch routine.  I’m beginning to get the hang of this focus malarkey too.

The red valerian looks full of promise as does the pear tree.

The tulips promise to be amazing this year if these early buds are any indication.  Unless the squirrels have re-arranged the labels these are Pink Impression and Negrita.

The blueberries are also showing lots of promise.

The raspberries Joan J are making a bid for freedom.

And my favourite, a crinkly rhubarb leaf.