What a difference a day makes...

What a diff'rence a day makes
Twenty-four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain!!!!

Oh yes this is the sort of weather we want - blue, blue skies and warm temperatures and this makes me feel full of energy and raring to go and our garden is in desperate need of some tidying.  The cats are happy that we are outside and keep us company.  John wanted to sort out the woodstore and I wanted to cut back all those plants that benefit from a good haircut in the winter.  

I started with the passion flower which is actually still flowering - it may have been super wet but it hasn't been cold enough for these plants to lose their leaves.  During the course of the year the passion flower grows from the water tap and stretches across to the barbeque on one side and the shower on the other and I cut it back to just a main stem and a few branches.  We have had extra fencing put on recently between the turrets on the wall - Charlie approves because he can sneakily checkout what is going on beyond our garden without being seen!!!

I moved on to tackle the clock vine.  This gets cut back to the ground and grows up to the height of the house during the course of the summer.  I went up onto the roof terrace to start there - we have to be careful that the falling leaves don't block up the drain on the roof.  From there I get a good view of the garden and John giving the pool a bit of a clean.  It will be a few months before either of us are brave enough to venture in there!!!  Everything looks so much better when the sun shines and it reminds us why we chose to live on this island as to North we get the view of the bay stretching out in front of us and to the East we can see the Troodos and its covering of snow and below the garden is bathed in glorious sunshine and I am wishing I had rather less layers on than I dressed with!!!

So here is a 'now you see it now you don't' shot of the clock vine at ground level.  John is ever so slightly relieved to be able to get back into his shed which got a good clear out.  Let's hope the goats are passing through soon as there is a veritable smorgasbord of garden cuttings lobbed over the fence for their delight and delectation.  There is nothing more I can do to the back garden now except keep on top of the weeds which are appearing and which I fret about and which disappear once we get into the summer months.  I feel fired up to get things done to the house and the garden - we are drawing up lists - we do that regularly and we revisit them regularly and we realise we haven't done anything like the number of things we had hoped we would, money is the biggest issue but time and enthusiasm come a close second and third.

I shall finish with this shot of the narcissi about to bloom under the olive tree in the corner of the garden - a glimpse of Spring which hopefully is around the corner, ain't we lucky Mr Veasey?  you bet your life we are - we have a roof over our heads, we have food in the fridge, we have a full wine rack and friends and family who care about us.  

narcissus

nɑːˈsɪsəs/

noun

noun: narcissus; plural noun: narcissi; plural noun: narcissuses

1. a bulbous Eurasian plant of a genus that includes the daffodil, especially (in gardening) one with flowers that have white or pale outer petals and a shallow orange or yellow cup in the centre.

Origin