I actually managed to forget posting this yesterday - so you're getting it today instead, and I'm sorry for the unexpected blog silence.

Spring is coming slowly nearer here, and I'm working on getting the willow fence into shape (as in pruned completely) before it's actually growing time again. There was some progress, as you can see here:

 


I'm not as far along as I would like to be, but there is some progress, and the weather is forecast to be pruning-friendly during the next few days as well.

The fence was put in in Spring 2012, so it's going to be 8 years now. It has changed a lot from the very orderly, very slender beginnings:



I find especially fascinating how the "heads" develop where the rods are pruned off every year:



They have their own kind of weird beauty, I think.

It's finally been cold for a few days - this winter was not very cold overall, there was almost no snow, only a light dusting for a few hours or, at most, two or so days. I'm quite happy that the temperature has finally fallen into the slight negative, even if it's only for a few days, and I hope it's enough for all those critters and plants that need a good stint of frost to do well.

That means I have a few days where I'm not going to prune the willow fence, as it should be above zero for that - it will look like this a while longer:



Every year, I'm floored by the sheer amount of biomass these willows produce over one growing season. It's a lot of wood!

Meanwhile, the snowdrops, unfazed by the cold, are slowly getting ready:



So. A bit more winter, or at least wintery temperatures, and then the new year will truly come in...

It's been a while since you got a proper garden pictures post, so here you are:



The lavendar is coming into full bloom - and it's being appreciated by the bees. As is the thyme that has taken over our lawn:



This is a somehow weird picture, but I like how the background came out.



We also have a space (you could call it a flowerbed, if you are feeling generous) where wild flowers such as the one above are growing in abundance. I'm extra happy about this one, which I'm seeing here the first time this year:



And finally, woad has managed to gain a foothold here - it's doing its "second year thing" now, flowering and making seeds:



Hooray!

The garden is in proper spring mood now - the peach blossom is through, as is the bloom of the sour cherry. There are the first strawberry blossoms now:

and, much to the delight of bees and bumble-bees, the borage is also in flower already:

Theoretically, these are edible leaves, and they are said to be delicious in combination with cucumbers - but somehow I've never really warmed to them. They are a bit too hairy for my palate. I still enjoy having the plant in the garden, though, as they are blooming nicely and for most of the warm period; the flowers make a nice edible decoration on salads, and the insects love them, too. Plus it comes back year after year, sowing its own seeds, and if it is somewhere that I don't want it, removal is rather easy. So altogether, it actually is one of my favourite plants!

I'm back from spending a few days with family, and of course things to do have stacked up in the time - so here you have a tulip from our garden while I am trying to catch up!

Our neighbour has acquired a hive of bees. It's sunny and quite dry. I've "activated" (as in "soaked") a block of coconut fibres in a plastic bucket a few days ago, to mix with soil for potting plants.

These three things, together, have resulted in this:

These are bees, probably mostly from the neighbour's hive, having a drink. Actually not only having a drink, but filling up with water to carry back to the hive, to liquify food, be able to digest pollen, and to cool down the hive if necessary.

Which means I've been watering the bee-bar every morning now - and I have the pleasure of lots and lots of bees keeping me company when I sit right outside the wintergarden, where the bucket stands, having a break!