Spring is sprung…

Spring is sprung…

Well hello there!
Thanks for dropping in.
Friday’s blog a private peek, so shall I get the kettle on?
I was looking out of the window here at the house,
and the buds are a-budding, aren’t they?
Spring is sprung,
the grass is ris,
I wonder where the birdies is…
Well, there’s a pair of blue tits in this little nesting box for sure.
Lots of activity in and out all day!
I planted a clematis last year, 
but thought it hadn’t taken 
because it never advanced beyond a stick.
Then today, whilst in pursuit of the birdies, 
look what I found!

Ah Spring! The bird is on the wing.
My word, how absurd!
I thought the wing was on the bird!
Grace here has been keeping vigil…
We had to give her a little wash though, 
sitting under the ginkgo tree…
As I looked up into the sky
A bird dropped whitewash in my eye.
I didn’t laugh, I didn’t cry.
I just thanked God that cows can’t fly.
Ought to wash this poor little chap too.
Our garden really is a bird haven. 
I could sit and watch them all day long.
I planted this last year too and thought it hadn’t taken!
Which just goes to show that you have to 
give things a chance, Barbara!
In fact, last year my Mum gave me a lovely planter 
with little narcissi and crocuses on my birthday.
They had their day, and I put the little pot out in the garden, thinking it was done.
And Lo! It came back!!
With absolutely no assistance!!
Isn’t nature wonderful?
So now I have painted this idyllic picture of an old established English garden, cradled in the dingly dell of East Sussex,
here’s the pile we won’t show you…
Hahahaha! Let’s be real!
There’s Victorian sandstone and valuable oak in there apparently!
Oh good.
A work in progress then…
So let me leave you with these sage words from Lope de vega:
“With a few flowers in my garden,
half a dozen pictures and some books, 
I live without envy.”
I was going to add, and a Mulberry handbag, 
but it didn’t seem to fit…
Have a great weekend xxxx
lots of love,

59 thoughts on “Spring is sprung…

  1. Your garden looks beautiful and peaceful. Ours is mostly decking as we are not so able to garden anymore.,we do have a few pots though! We have a pair of magpies living somewhere near as they visit our wee waterfall for drinks every day along with a pair of wood pigeons so it's always nice to see them . X

  2. Spring is springing, the birds are nesting. Trees are out in bud. But why do the weeds have to come back? There is something very lovely watching nature this time of year. Peaceful and lovely to think that the cold weather is behind us again. Enjoy your tits Barb x

  3. It was all looking just too perfect!! I was going to ask how you managed to keep it looking so lovely, run a business and a home and family AND have time for crafting and inspiring all the rest of us!! Glad to see you are human after all!!!

  4. Spring is definitely Springing the sun has been shining here today, the buds are swelling on the trees and my little trough of daffodils are flowering their socks off. I love the look into your garden Barbara thank you for sharing it with us
    Jackie x

  5. Thanks for sharing a private peek! Spring is a lovely time of year, hope you are able sit, meditate
    and relax after your busy week. Have a lovely week-end

    Mary x

  6. What a beautiful garden you have somewhere lovely to sit watch and unwind after a busy day it is amazing how the flowers die of in autumn then looks all dead then spring comes everything comes to life love hearing birds chirping away enjoy love Joy xxx

  7. Aye Barbara you need a loooooads of patience for a garden ;-). But it is a skill you can learn, honest!!! And never give up on a plant, always give it at least a full season's chance to show you 'see I'm still here', some plants like to have a wee rest occasionally!!!! I loooove your garden. If only I had a garden like that I could be out lost in it, in peace, any day I wanted for as long as I wanted. And yes, I'm another one with 'work in progress' piles of all sorts!!!!, You learn to not look at those ;-).

    I had loads of birds living in my wee garden when I lived in the city, moved out to here, more rural, more garden and very few birds! I seem to be on a seasonal passing through route, they stop off for a rest and to fuel up before moving on!!! There is a farm literally at the top of my road though so not sure if that has anything to do with it. I used to have all sorts in my wee garden – field mice, squirrels, foxs, a hedgehog one year. And a frog /toad that used to come to sit in the bird bath at night, before helping me out with the pesky snails and slugs, they eat them 🙂 Here so little of anything, but I did see a field mouse around for the first time last year and it was clearly enjoying my wild flowers, fortunately he was kind enough to leave me some seed pods or I'd have nothing to sow this year!!!! The only unwanted visitor at my last place was a sparrow hawk :-(, I think I lost my favourite wee sparrow friend to it. And the dreaded wood pigeons of course. I've cracked that one here though :-), they rarely come now 🙂

    Did you know you can get bird boxes with a camera in them, you can watch on your telly everything that's going on inside. I was going to get one when I moved here, but with the lack of birdy residents didn't think it worthwhile.

    What's all this talk of spring weather? It's freezing here, still get frost a lot of nights, I was beginning to think I had somehow slept through spring, summer, autumn this year!!!! Please blow your spring weather up this way, I need to get all my sowing done, but don't want to risk it while there's bits of frost around.

    Thank you very much for the private peek at your garden, I enjoyed my tour 🙂
    How's the 4 steps to a healthier and fitter Barbara going? Have you managed to go swimming yet?

    Love Brenda xx

    1. Hi Brenda. I just want to tell you that my tan mats ( pack of two) arrived and IT WORKED. I can now emboss my Clarity stencils, well, up to 6 inches that is, with my Cuttlebug. I'm still working on the optimal number of shims but I am so pleased and so grateful to you for convincing me that I needed to get the tan mat after all. Thanks again. Carol x

    2. That's great Carol, I'm very happy it worked, glad I could help, and thank you so much for letting me know. You'll be embossing everything in sight now!!!! xx

    3. mmm, not sure I'd want to encourage any bats to take residence here!!!! That feels a bit scary. But maybe once all the outstanding work is finished, I'll think again about a camera bird box, it might entice a bird to stay around. I was going to get some wee nesting pouches for the fence too once that's painted. There's quite a number of local cats here though, so me and Daisy would have to take turns on night duty when the babies fledge! Daisy would love bird cam tv! When she's hanging around my laptop, or she's totally bored, I sometimes put youtube videos of birds on for her and she sits for ages watching them. I've also got Daisy telly recorded for her, she loved to chase the computer mouse on the telly when they did CD Rom shows, so I edited a 2 hour one for her so it's only the parts where the mouse is moving about on the telly. It was one of her favourite games when she was little, so much so that she recognised the voices of CD Rom people and would go running to the telly for the mouse and if it wasn't on she would then look at me as if to say, "c'mon, I'm waiting, make them do the mouse"!!!! She thinks she's a bit too grown up for that now, so doesn't play that game as much! xx

    4. Ha how funny, a 2 hour programme just for her what a lucky kitty! In the summer I enjoy sitting in the garden around dusk and watching the bats flitting around. My sister hates them though so as soon as she sees them shes off indoors! Xx

  8. Lovely garden – ours is very spring like and the best time of year now as we have lots of trees.
    Just got back from diving in the Caribbean – however thanks to my husband's phone, I was able to follow the blog – sometimes at very strange hours. I loved all of them and just sorry that I could not comment each day. They were all superb. Looking forward to Ali Pali and spending my birthday money with you! Your blog is an inspiration to me each day – especially when I come home from work. Thank you. Must get cracking on my allotment soon.
    Best wishes
    Anne (Reading)

  9. Beautiful gardens…thank you for sharing. I, too, could watch the birds and squirrels for hours, and am also happy that cows don't fly. Have a wonderful weekend.

  10. I'll get round to clearing that up, when I get 5 mins ! As an ex farmer I cannot throw stuff away, especially if it is very old Yew, even older Oak and such like, t'aint right, t'aint proper, t'aint friendly any crafter reading will understand…it just might come in handy some day! Now if we could just get the A26 diverted……x

    1. Dave my Dad always said it wasn't a garden without a pile of bricks in it or a'happening' as he used to call it. When we moved into this house my dad did a tour of the property and said to my husband ' yes this one will do, look there's a pile of bricks!'. I'm sure you will find a great use for your pile of good wood one day! Love Diane

  11. Hi Barbara your garden looks gorgeous. Isn't it wonderful how everything springs back to life at this time of year. At school we have a bird box with a camera in it so you can see what the birdies are up to, it is broadcast to a web page. Have a great weekend. Hugs Jackie

  12. Your garden is beautiful Barbara. Hope you manage to enjoy some rest and relaxation in it when it's a little warmer. I love pottering in mine. Was that a Camelia I spotted, it looks a picture. Do love Camelias, I have a few, ones been poorly all last year so been nursing it with sequestered iron & plant tonic, may have paid off as it has a fair few buds on now. Hoping they'll be flowers. Have a relaxing weekend and a big thank you for sharing your picturesque garden with us, even your pile of (dare I say it, unmentional rubbish), we all have some of that. xx

  13. A beautiful garden. Wish ours was larger. I have a little shrub in our garden which we rescued as a stick from my dad's garden. It has lots of buds on it this year, thought we had lost it, a little memory of my dad. We get a lot of birds as well, a mistle thrush comes for a wash most days in our birddbath. xx

  14. hi barb

    lovely garden , I too lov e the spring, nature is wonderful, I have installed a bird box with a camera, but guess what, the blue tits have gone in the old one of course, never mind there is still time yet, we keep a hive of bees and it is a joy to behold watching them bringing back different colored pollen to feed the young larvae, we are so lucky in this country with all the different wild life.
    best wishes

    julie bee

  15. I bet that area in the last photo is full of wildlife, teaming with insects that will provide food for your little birdies, and watch out for hibernating hedgepigs too. I cannot wait to get out in my garden and do things once this cough has subsided. I want to prune things and plant things and get seeds growing before I go away for the first time. Have fun, watching all those wonderful things happen. xxx Maggie

  16. Lovely garden and it does look very peaceful! Love the big pile of useful stuff – I'm sure you have a box full of similar bits in your craft room, that are just too good to throw away. My dad is just like Dave – a collector of all things useful, but now he's 84 he doesn't drive anymore, so will pick them up and bring them home on the bus!!! Tomorrow I have a firm date with my craft room, so might try to make a start on my Jane canvas…. Susan x

  17. The garden looks lovely Barbara, even the work in progress pile isn't too bad! Amazing how good a bit of sunshine, buds on the trees and spring flowers make you feel isn't it

    Much Love
    Kim xx

  18. Cor you could work for an estate agent, they always seem to get the best angle too! That pile is just waiting for the right project I'm sure Dave has something amazing in mind. Have a great sunny weekend. XX

  19. Despite some chill and rain, I did my walk through the neighborhood . The forsythia ,and magnolias and camellias are blooming .,just had to prune a few along the way .,no one saw me and it does help the plant to prune back abit . Lovely in a crystal,bowl,

  20. was that for real? i don't believe for a second that you didn't know that the plants would come back, they are perennials. glad to see you have some pile of 'unseeable' stuff, hugs xx

  21. So lovely your garden!!! Sometimes the simple pleasures are the best and we need to remember that often we overlook the beauty that's so close to us!
    Love the sentiments on today's blog! They would make excellent stamps!!
    Love and hugs xxx

  22. Lovely garden, Barbara. My garden, on Anglesey, isn't so nearly advanced, Spring is a tad slower here. Still Spring is on the way, clocks go forward this weekend. Where has the last three months gone?

  23. Beautiful spring plants nature is wonderful ,I have a lady who planted out my pots last year ready for spring as I carnt do them myself anymore they look wonderful as we drive up to our bungalow so thankful for what others do for us xxx

  24. Thanks for the tour Barbara your mums gift will come up every year left alone they come every year. I have blue tits in my box I bought two new boxes thinking they would leave the tatty one but know they have set up home in the old one new ones vacant love June horrocks xxx

  25. Hi Barbara
    What a beautiful garden you have, I do love spring when everything comes to life but then you have to go out and start taming it too! I've got tits interested in my box too! They keep popping in and out so I'm hoping they will stay. The poem made me smile, my dad used to recite that to us when we were little, haven't heard it for ages. Love a good pile too, every garden should have a work in progress. I hope the weather is sunny with you this weekend so you can get outside and enjoy the sunshine and the garden.
    Take care.
    Love Diane xxx

  26. Hi Barbara
    I love Spring and it is wonderful how everything suddenly comes to life. Your garden looks lovely-just the place to sit and reflect on how amazing nature is and plan some new nature inspired stamps and stencils ( no pressure ) !!!
    Hugs from Chris X

  27. You garden is beautiful Barbara and I love this time of year as the grass is so green and everything is coming to life, and this weekend sees the start of longer evenings which I love. x

  28. Lovely garden, Barbara, even the WIP pile looks interesting 🙂 This is the loveliest time of the year – when the sun is out it's perfect. I'm out everyday just checking to see what new plant is emerging now. I have a tit box but no tits so far, maybe next year. A pot of hyacinths that was put outside when it finished flowering last year, then forgotten, has bloomed again … nature is indeed wonderful. Enjoyed the little ditties 🙂 Elizabeth xx

  29. Hello Barb, thank you for sharing such lovely pictures of your garden in spring time. I love the birds in the garden too and we always try keep the bird feeders filled. Have a great day. Bx

  30. Ahhhh… I had all those little ditties in my school autograph book too.
    If the oak isn't tantalised it can go in your wood burner – just tell your gardener to cut it up. Gets the pile down!
    Love
    Maggie xx

  31. Hi Barb,
    Lovely pictures of your beautiful garden – thank you for sharing. We have bird boxes up and some sparrows are interested in one ( in the shape of a caravan) and some blue tits have been having a look at another one but not taken up residence yet. I love our garden, it is quite big and we have a male pheasant that comes four times a day to be fed – I love him! He's been coming since he was a juvenile and every time the patio door opens he appears! I'll be sorry when he doesn't appear. Love Alison xx

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