Things are looking very spring-like around here now. We have apple blossom…

And forget-me-nots…

And the drifts of bluebells in our copse are just coming into flower…

All of which has prompted me into doing some gardening. I’m a somewhat intermittant gardener, only taking action when I’m feeling thoroughly enthused about it, or when I can’t delay any longer, usually because I’m at risk of disappearing like Sleeping Beauty under a thicket of brambles.

My ‘flower’ border is a case in point. I gave up my fight against the bramble plants last year and just let them grow where they wanted to. It looked a mess, but the crop of blackberries was fantastic! Consequently, this year, I’ve come to view the bramble plants as over-enthusiastic companions to the plants that I want to grow. Rather than digging up all the bramble roots, which I hate doing, I’ve simply cut the tops back to ground level wherever I could, leaving some stems to scramble where they want to, which I shall cut back again if they get too exuberant. It seems a much happier partnership this way, I think the brambles and I may actually become friends. And I’ve been able to clear some spaces for some other plants. Like this blackcurrant bush.

I’ve also ordered some raspberry plants and a redurrant bush to accompany it. Along with the blackberries I should have some very tasty fruits for summer puddings in the future.

I’ve also been working on some plans to repair and repopulate our old and currently uninhabited chicken shed…

We used to keep a flock of free range bantams, but one year a particularly fierce fox caught most of them and we didn’t have the heart to restock. The foxes seem to be keeping their distance lately, ever since my sister started bringing her dog with her to visit, I think the scent is keeping them away.

Although the shed looks a bit sad at the moment (the day that my dad accidentally hit it with the JCB was a sad one), it shouldn’t take much work to fix. The chickens I shall keep in it will eventually be completely free range, but to start with I want to keep them penned, just until they know where home is. So I’ll need to construct a wire pen too.

As for the chickens themselves, I’m thinking I’d like to hatch some chicks, probably bantams. I need to invest in an incubator and make a brooder for the chicks when they hatch, but I think it’ll be an exciting project. Little chicks are so cute, and if I start with them this season, we should have fresh eggs by next spring.