Well Readers, here we are, home again in East Finchley, and as per usual everything has been growing wildly in our absence.
The green alkanet and the red campion have taken over the bench, plus the birds have clearly been sitting in the whitebeam and doing that thing that birds do…
The wildflower turf that we planted last year is full of interesting plants, including ribwort plantain and sorrel and more red campion…
The yellow flag and the bog bean are coming into flower…
…as is the garlic mustard/Jack-by-the-hedge…
Plus, we have a shed which mysteriously appeared while we were in Canada…
And also, the dahlias are finally coming up in the planters, with various degrees of enthusiasm…
There are first signs of a dahlia here! At 2 o’clock….
But this is what has me most delighted (and slightly worried, truth be told) – the Great Tits who were inspecting the sparrow nesting box before we left have obviously reproduced, if you listen to the recording below. It’s very close to our back door, so we’re doing our best to be quiet and to leave them to it – the adult birds visit regularly, so fingers crossed for a happy outcome. Have a listen to the frantic chirruping!
Welcome home, what a lovely new shed. Baby birds rarely seem to be abandoned by their parents so I expect that you will all learn to live happily ever after. I would have to remove the alkanet by the garden seat, my husband has a very low tolerance of the bristly leaves so I limit it to one huge specimen behind the compost heap. It is a fair exchange for his help in the garden.
It is always fun to see your garden 🙂