I have spent a couple of hours in the sunshine, wrapped up against the cold wind, listening to the radio, and tidying the front garden. How therapeutic! The drive is swept and the brown bin full of twigs, leaves and the seed-heads of various plants. I have trimmed the Nellie Moser and the tips of the bay tree which were nipped by the frost. Evidence of Spring is bursting forth. Sedum shoots tightly packed, furry magnolia buds – in fact buds on most things; bulbs pushing through. Marvellous. My mood has improved by an immeasurable quantity.
In the back garden the lawn is scattered with snow drops (in the deep shade of the yew hedge) and various crocus and anonites among the tussocky grass and under the trampoline.
A cheery deliver of my Ocado groceries complained of the cold.
“More snow in its way, I wouldn’t be surprised,” he said.
Boadicea's Chariot 
psue
You sound full of rightous happiness and so you should be, a very productive time by the sound of it coupled with some very nice atmospheric descriptions. My only concern is that you have placed the detrius in the BROWN bin, that’s a BIG no no where I come from. Garden waste in the brown bin will bring down the full, crushing weight of the garden waste management gauleiter at SS Headq…..oops, sorry…the local town hall.
It is always good to get out there isn’t it?
I was half way through my great potting up when I was struck down, 200 down and several hundred still to go! Veg starts for the charity plant sales.
Must totter up the greenhouse today its very sunny, absolutely maddening one is always laid low at the busiest time of the year for maximum inconvenience!
Fancy the anonites! I am imagining a cross between an aconite and and ammonite!!!
omg, when they pissed me off finally on this garbage crap, I took all my commercial rubbish in bin liners and piled it against the town hall front door with a letter attached in a plastic bag (to keep dry) stating they were in breach of contract and my lawyers were….. Did it Friday night so they had the benefit of it the whole weekend, luverly. Never heard another word except a very nervous visit from the Town Hall Clerk to apologise for not collecting properly.
Fight the cretinous bastards!
Pseu – I can’t wait to get out into the garden and clear all the weeds and winter detritus and plant the veg patch (yes, even wolves have such things), but there’s been torrential and persistent global warming since December and it’s just not possible yet. People who have already donned sou’westers and wellies to plant potatoes, leeks and suchlike have seen them rot in the ground.
OMG – Aren’t you allowed to have a bonfire any more?
Mrs Osborne, Ma’am – I am delighted that the recent surgery has not blunted your intolerance of the superannuated wealth sponges.
OZ
Today I felt a twinge of guilt at the pile of dead brown leaves at the bottom of the garden, the overgrown mulch and the flowers that need dead heading…then I thought, I know – I’ll just close the curtains instead!
I refuse to feel guilty, Nym. I’m Busy with Other Things, but I’ll get round to it soon, I think. It’s on my list!
Claire – a woman after my own heart! Best not to look at what you haven’t time to deal with!
Mind you we need to do some cutting back – but we’ve got the perfect excuses: first too hot, and now too wet!
Brown bins are for garden waste in South London too Pseu.
What do you put in them OMG?
The builders put all their rubbish in ours too.
My brown bin is for garden and kitchen waste. I usually use my compost bins, but they are full and n need of a sort out….
In our area they have just started collecting the kitchen waste, which s good as they take cooked food as well as raw. So a further subdividing of refuse… that suitable for my compost bins and that suitable for council collection. We also have blue bins for re-cycling and green bins for ordinary rubbish.
Christina, yes I meant aconites! Sorry.
Tonight very cold again here. Minus something on the way back from bookclub.
Brown is for everday stuff, wellington boots, small croquet mallets, discarded tiaras, most of the food waste goes into the whirly, churney thing under the sink.
Green bin is for paper, cardboard, glass and drachmas.
Garden waste goes into clear polythene bags supplied by SS Headq…..sorry, the town hall.
anonites are much more fun!
We’ll have to breed something with that name….
anonymously.
I live in a flat 🙂
Shame.
You could have window boxes….
Glad you’re enjoying it all, Pseu. Must admit I haven’t really blitzed the garden yet but like you, I love seeing buds fattening – the camellias and the magnolia are my favourites.
Just back on the bike having blissily sunny early morning rides with and mist hanging over the river. Heard a skylark singing overhead yesterday – the earliest I’ve ever heard! There are advantages to not listening to an i-pod.