February can be a rather meah month for the garden, what with excess rain, some snow and mud… oh yes, mud. It can be a month for some structural work and there are always shoots of hope peeking through. And when the sun shines, it can be lovely… if bloody cold.
The main work has been to prune the apple tree – it’s an ancient cooker a bramley and for two of the last three years ahs supplied over 800 apples a year each – last year the lovely dry sunny spring wasn’t lovely for the crop and we had less than 200 but still a year off isn’t a problem.
I re tracked a path that will be gravelled later this month and there were pergolas to prune…
And otherwise… well, here are a few images showing you some of what we’ve experienced – same view, different days – and then some of the early signs of colour – this year the snowdrops and crocuses have been fantastic…
and some colour…
And for those of you who are only here for Dog…
So there we go… we did mow the lawn once, too so spring is definitely coming…
TanGental 
Love the pics of your dog…… Milo is it? Maggie loved smelling the flowers too.
Lovely garden Geoff. We are beginning to work on ours.
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I was saying to someone else that he spends so long sniffing out the foxes that getting a photo of him with his head up is a real challenge. If Mylo – yes, you’re right, that’s him- had his way foxes and crows would be ethnically cleansed from our garden!
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Have a tip for getting rid of foxes………… we read it in our Keeping Chickens for beginners. Only you could do it though Geoff………apparently foxes will give a wide berth to the smell of human male urine!
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Iām on it!!!
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We had no problem Geoff. Good luck!! Stealth by night!!
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Thanks for the dog pictures!! (The garden looks great too) xo
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Oh stop it! He muscles his way in, the furry diva…
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Love the beautiful garden photos….. And if course Dog ššš
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Thanks. I’m hoping spring is wettrr this year. Last year was wonderful but the lack of rain in April and May caused problems later. Not picky, am I?!
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No certainly not Geoff, you need to call in some of your weather and sky sculpturing experts from you hoard of amazing characters to sort things out for the Brokers wedding. š
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It feels so good when those first spring flowers appear. I cannot get enough from the many crocus nests in my garden.
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I’ve decided to make more nests this year. They are spectacular, aren’t they?
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They make the heart laugh!
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Lovely photos as always! I especially like the ancient apple tree. ā¤
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I am very grateful that we inherited such a gem. It was planted in 1970! It’s beginning to tilt so I may need to prop it up soon.
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The crocuses and snowdrops are lovely.
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I think this might be the year of the bulb. Tulips and daffs are poking through in profusion.
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I can see Dog and me strolling through the lovely garden (s) and that is as it should be! ā¤
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He spends so much time sniffing for interlopers – especially the local foxes – that it’s a challenge to grab a pic of him with his head up. Glad you enjoyed his company
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It’s sunny here as well but there is a cold wind blowing down from Canada so sitting in the garden isn’t that pleasant! Such a lovely place Geoff – I don’t think I’d ever want to leave!
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Weve been lucky to have it during lockouts to keep us sane. The temperatures are fluctuating a lot but generally on an up swing
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Spring always feels like a miracle:) Lovely photos, Geoff!
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Thank you Becky. It truly is.
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A very impressive tour. You won’t be surprised to know that I like the brick bound path winding round the tree.
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You keep a fine looking garden, Geoff.
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20 degrees with an Arctic wind makes me look in amazement at anything, much less a lawn, growing right now. Thank goodness no warm snap preceded this, so nothing had peeped its head up just to be snuffed out. (Good gracious, I am really anthropomorphizing the yard!)
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Why not. It probably keeps you sane!
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I love seeing the same view of your lovely garden on different days, at different times of day, with different light and clouds, etc. Hurrah for your early blossoms!!! ONE snowdrop has dared to sprout and bloom so far in our tiny front garden in the Boston (USA) area ā and today we (like some of your previous commenters) are experiencing an Arctic blast. But tomorrow is forecast to be sunny and warmer; so a few crocus may decide they are ready to push their noses out of the ground… THANK YOU for this lovely taste of spring!
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Itās getting colder again. But hopefully the proper spring will be here soon.
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This is so lovely, Geoff. Crocus in the middle of the yard is a a pleasant surprise. We still have snow, but the weather will warm up at last next week.
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Excellent. Our temperatures are dropping for a few days and then weāre promised some proper spring… hope so
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Hooray!
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For some reason, Rosie seemed to see the photos of Mylo as a queue to lean over me with her paw press firmly on my shoulder, ball in mouth demanding a throw. We call her “standover dog”.
I enjoyed the series of photos of your emerging garden, especially the patch of snow. My parents have an English style garden with loads of camellias and azaleas. It becomes a bit of an overgrown wilderness, though, and reminds me of Wordsworth’s forgotten village. They’re lucky to get the cars down the driveway and we recently gave them a hedge trimmer. In Spring, their front lawn turns into a field of snowbells and forget-me-nots and the ground is covered in moss. It’s rather pretty.
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Sounds fabulous. Love a good mess…
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