Watching and waiting

There's a lot of watching and waiting going on in the garden and the allotment  at the moment. I'm watching the weather each day to see if it's OK to dig or hoe the soil. Can't do that if the soil is frozen. I'm watching the weather reports --waiting for the weather to warm up, planning the week ahead--can we go to the allotment? Is it going to be dry? We 've actually had some really lovely dry days this last week . Cold but not enough to stop us working, and sunny too. There's so much I want to do but it's too early. But there are other things I can do while I'm waiting.

I've been watching for signs of Spring--new shoots emerging . And I've seen them! In the woodland garden at home the crocus are there almost ready to flower, the hellebores are flowering and the daffodils are poking their heads through the soil. So are the bluebells, but that's a few months away yet. At the allotment the primroses are flowering under the big tree and the bulbs pots I planted last year are emerging again--mini daffodils, crocus, snowdrops.

I've been watching the birds. There are lots about in the garden and the allotment. I have put up some bird feeders on the allotments. Plot 8 is just so full of birds it's wonderful to watch them in the hedge and on the feeders. There are sparrows in the privet behind the shed--so much activity there. There are birds in the shed roof too, we can hear them. I joined the RSPB after I'd done the Big Garden Bird Watch and I got a bird nest box as part of my new members pack. Richard fixed it to the big tree so we will be watching for signs of activity in there.

Watching and waiting. The allotments are quiet at the moment but there is a feeling that something will happen soon. The weather will warm up and work will begin. This waiting time is good in a way because it gives us chance to catch up with other jobs which sometimes get neglected when there's a lot of sowing, planting and growing to do. This week I have been cutting back a spirea which grows  against the fence in different places around the plot. In some places it's a bit of a nuisance, it seems to have taken over and gets in the way when we are working. So I've cut it right back and I'm going to plant something like a clematis or honeysuckle which will scramble along the fence between ours and the next door plot. I've also done some work in the woodland garden at home, clearing up debris, cutting back and planting  snowdrops. My next job is to clean out the growhouses.

Soon everything will burst into life and all the hard work will begin, in the meantime I'm enjoying the peace and calm that the watching and waiting brings.