Moving into summer.

Flowering cherry. 

The spring flowers are just about at the end but it has been a very good season for all the spring bulbs,

we still have some lovely tulips flowering and the last of the narcissus have just started flowering,

I think this one is a Pheasant Eye, it smells wonderful.

Now the early summer flowers are starting to bloom,

I love all the different colours.

one of the earliest seems to be the Aquilegia which look lovely next to late flowering tulips.

The forget-me-nots are also looking lovely, such a vivid blue.

Strawberries are fruiting well, we are picking around a pound a day, these are the ones in the tunnel, soon the outside plants will be producing,

I'm very pleased with the strawberry barrel, the plants are doing very well in it, far better than last years experiment with straw bale gardening which for us did not work. The asparagus is producing well for us this year,

and the outside spinach is also giving us plenty.

Potatoes in the tunnel are flowering so we will try some at the weekend by which time there will also be some

mange tout peas

I love the smell of Broad bean flowers.

and broad beans to pick.

The over wintered onions have done well and we can pull them now as needed, the main crop is outside in the veg garden,

also ready is the garlic, I do not understand why Ireland imports most if not all of it's garlic from China, it grows very well here.

Felix relaxing by the pond.

The cats have been enjoying the good weather, but Felix has complained that it been too hot for him, he also complains if it's raining, blaming us, he also complains if it's cold. The other cats just accept whatever the weather throws at them.

Waiting for supper.

The hens have also enjoyed the warmer weather and are laying too many eggs, we are awash with them so a lot of freezing has to be done, we will be pleased to have this frozen supply in the winter.

I have now packed away all my craft work for the summer, the last things I did were the decorated goose eggs, they have turned out quite well, I will return to them come the colder weather.
However I will continue with the pottery classes, they are such fun and I think I'm learning quite a lot, especially about the Vikings. Jacqui our teacher is part of the Viking re- enactment movement, she specialises in Viking pottery, it's great to learn about a people that I had little if any knowledge of.

The dark tulips are Queen of the night.

Chives, good to eat as well as very pretty.

The weather has now changed back to what we are familiar with, showers and cooler than it has been, I'm not complaining though, for me the last few days has been far too hot. I think that the sun might have affected the OH's memory, or maybe it was just a senior moment, he put the electric kettle on the gas ring, not a good idea. I was quite fond of our old kettle, it also whistled when it was boiled, it's replacement has no whistle, but it does have a bright led light to tell you when it's on, I think the whistle was of more use.

I love this orange tulip.

This one is a beauty.

First of the Papavers

Kingcups in the pond.

Sweet little pansy.