It seems as if Spring has finally arrived, although I am sure there will still be some frost to come. The snowdrops have gone over this week, and the crocus are not far behind them – although the pigeon trampling is helping them on their way.
In the front garden I have a lot of Spring and Summer flowering bulbs starting to come up, and the first of my early tulips are starting to flower and bring some much welcomed colour into the mainly brown area at the front of the house – I really must find something to brighten it up in Winter and early Spring next year. The gooseberry is coming into leaf, we will see if we have surprised the sawfly or not by moving it, and the rosemary is also flowering.
The back garden is now showing much more promise. The daffodils are now out, and the hellebores are providing a much needed nectar source for the queen bumblebees that I am seeing in greater numbers every day and the primroses are valiantly trying to keep their flowers above the ground despite the, at times, heavy rain, which has given them a pounding.
Spring is also starting to develop its own soundtrack. Although I have yet to hear a chiffchaff this year, the blackbirds are singing each evening as the sun is setting, adding to the slightly melancholic song of the robin which has been singing and holding its territory all Winter. The blue tits are also getting more agressive, even the much bigger bullfinches are intimidated by the mad little beasties.
Although I have yet to see any in the garden, I also spotted my first butterfly of the year during the week; a Brimstone that I saw from my office window.