This weekend's results

After a couple of relatively sunny weekends, I managed to finish most of the post-winter clearing and tidying, and I got started on a few new projects for this year:

The hyacinths by the kitchen door have been a total success. They smell divine!

The daffodils are almost over, but the bed looks pretty enough and full of plants yet to flower - nigellas, poached egg plants, and of course the shrubs (viburnum, lilac, philadelphus and a rose). This year I'm planning to add a few dahlias, red chard and kale (currently trying to grow them in the greenhouse).

The bed around the pond got a bit of a makeover. I've cleared some bigger plants and made room for the sedums and alpines. I think it looks more balanced now, with smaller-scale plants, and I like the mulches. You can see the stones better now.

The side of the patio now has a nice step down, a new blueberry and a fern.

The main changes are happening in the front garden. I've been growing plugs of kniphofia that I bought online and now it was finally time to dig up the old weedy lawn and plant them up.

The bulbs I planted in September are coming up very nicely. But I still have a weedy lawn to dig up, and top up the mulches, so this is very much a work in progress. I plan to use bark chips along the paths, where the stepping stoves are, and gravel among the smaller plants.