5th April - in the garden

Today I decided to take a trip around the garden to take some photographs to add some colour and cheer to my blog now that I am running out of things to talk about.  Today is Saturday and it is glorious although the forecast for the coming week is full of rain - never mind we will take advantage whilst we can.

There are all sorts in flower at the moment and the garden is looking lovely - it is just a shame that no-one else is going to get to see it in the flesh.  Bulbs do well up here in Droushia so the anemones and irises are doing well and I have dug up and moved the daffodils which Laura and Mark sent many years ago because they do not flower and I am thinking that is because they do not get enough sunlight.

This year we have a beautiful deep burgundy anemone which has appeared from no-where, well I say nowhere but obviously I must have planted it at some point and this year it is gracing us with its beauty.  Another stalwart of my garden is the osteospurmum which are fabulous - so bright and cheerful.  Some have got a little woody and I have but them back but fear that it is too little too late so I may have some gaps in the borders to fill.

Over the past couple of days the sage has gone mad - this plant was an original in the garden when the house was built so is about 20 years old.  It was partnered by a rosemary bush which I gave a severe pruning to last year and it bloody well died.  Sage here in Cyprus is much stronger in flavour than I used to have in the UK so if I am using it for cooking I have to do so sparingly.

We decided to spend the remainder of the day sorting out the area outside the kitchen which we referred to as the Anniversary Bench as John built it temporarily in 2016 for the buffet for our silver wedding party.  It has remained there ever since and has become a dumping ground.  The picture on the left shows it with the sides removed and some of the rubbish taken out - it has clearly been housing mice as all sorts of plastic, like bin bags have been chewed.  We dismantled it all and moved the plastic box (which is full of wood) out of the way.  We then painted the wall and treated it with water proofing and then John built a rustic ladder so that Miss Minnie can get to the windowsill where she likes to eat her breakfast.  This whole area is getting a revamp and we want to build a permanent structure to house the bin and the recycling boxes but this will have to be when we are able to move around more freely.

The Ration Book says...

Noel Coward was fined for committing a minor currency offence during WWII and Winston Churchill denied him a knighthood because of it although it did come his way many years later.