It has been the most beautiful day here but very cold.  Being more than a little fed up with chain saws the Under Gardener has had the day off and I have retreated into the greenhouse.  This was in a very sorry state when we arrived and it was one of the first jobs to be tackled.  I did have grand ideas about a new greenhouse but when I saw the prices I new I would never swing it.  It is without doubt the powerhouse of the garden and I just love it.  I spent this afternoon sowing seeds and potting on grasses that had self set themselves in the grave garden.  They have grown a good deal over the winter as we do have a little heat in the greenhouse and they are now big plants.  The problem I have at this time of year is that my aspirations are larger than the greenhouse and something has got to give.  There is not another inch of room to be had but it is amazing what I do manage to squeeze in. I have found from experience to label and date everything and the old plant labels that have been discarded are brought in and soaked in bleached water for about 3 days when with a little jiff they will be as good as new!

We have now all but finished clearing the bank and in doing this have "released" the snowdrops to the world.  There are a good deal of them here and I shall lift and divide these clumps when they have gone over.  The daffs are now about two inches tall and buds are on so many things that I am feeling quite giddy with the prospect that spring is around the corner.  The lawns look uneven and as though a good trim would not come amiss but it is so wet that this is just not possible.  The sun is shinning and I am off to prep air seed trays (after I have dusted round  )

If you have seen the two pictures on the site under "projects" then you will know just how much clearing we have done to the bank at the front of the cottage.  The chopping and clearing and then lugging all this up to the top of the garden pales into insignificance compared with processing it!  What takes two or three days to chop down taken well over a week to process even though we have to chippers.  We are about 90% finished with the processing and now the under gardener has decided to completely remove the remaining hedge at the bottom of the bank.  Over half of it has disappeared over time and we had at one point considered just re-planting in the gaps but now all has changed. So - tomorrow it is out with the chain saw and on with the work.  Wish us luck.