Lots more rain this month, although April 1st was a glorious day, and it seemed like spring had finally arrived. I managed to get quite a lot of gardening done, and the lawn was finally mown for the first time since last October! Of course, it turned cold again, and on the 18th, it snowed! Not very much, though, just a light shower. Very cold though, far below the average for the time of year. Later in the month, the temperature rose, but still relatively cold for the time of year. Best day - Friday 27th - sunshine for most of the day. Maximum temperature in the garden this month 18°C (64°F) Minimum temperature minus 1°C (30°F).

On a sad note, thieves broke into the garden during the night of the 11th April, and stole my blue bench from by the pool. The Police said it's because the Car Boot Sales are starting again about now, and thefts from gardens are on the increase. As if that wasn't bad enough, in order to get the bench out, they dragged it straight through my plants and demolished a 4 ft high Hydrangea quercifolia (just visible behind the bench in the picture), and flattened a stand of bamboo! Sometimes I despair of the human race.... If you live in the Redditch area and are offered a blue park-style bench - you know where it came from!!

On a lighter note, I've been digging up the patio (well, hubby has - he needs the exercise!) to make room for a small prefabricated pond which my sister was throwing out! Her cats chase and mangle the frogs which come into her garden every spring to spawn, and she couldn't stand it any more, so the pond had to go! Never one to waste an opportunity, I said I'd have it. I won't keep any fish in it, because I just want it as a haven for tadpoles. The fish eat every one as they hatch out in the big pond on level 4, so I took some of the frogspawn out and put it into a small tank to hatch. Once this little pond was installed, I transferred them into it. Hopefully, the tadpoles will live to maturity, as frogs are getting increasingly rare. Once the pond was filled with water, it was only a few days later that a frog and a newt moved in! Isn't nature wonderful? Whilst removing the slabs to dig a hole for the pond, I decided to remove a few more from round the edge of the patio as well, to make more room for more plants!! I've finally planted my two tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica, instead of them being in pots, and I've found room for several other plants which have been languishing in pots for the past few years. When the plants in the new beds and the planting around the pond gets going (if we ever get any summer!), then the hard work will have been worthwhile. I'll keep you posted!

The hole for the pond is dug at last!

The pond is in position, and checked to make sure it's level! Now to fill it with water and plant the surrounding area (the best bit!).

Magnolias are lovely at this time of year, and none more so than the highly scented Magnolia stellata, which is one of my favourites. Normally, this flowers in March, but things have been a bit slow this year.....

Whilst looking round the garden, I saw this little Robin sitting in the Eucalyptus tree singing his head off! Just happened to have my camera.......

Whilst on a trip to a local Garden centre, I came across this lovely plant, Soldanella montana. It is an alpine, and I've often seen pictures of it in books, but never seen any for sale, so I just had to buy it, didn't I? I've potted it up into gritty compost, and it's put on new growth, so I hope it will be happy. Lots of seed pods now developing, so I'll scatter the seed around, and you never know, some might germinate.

Butterflies seen this month - Peacock, and small Tortoiseshell.

Birds seen or heard in or around the garden this month - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Crow, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Robin, Rook, Seagull, Starling, Tree Sparrow, Wood Pigeon, Wren.

SPRINGTIDE JUBILEE
by Ursula M Prout


Delightful is a garden
At the springtide of the year
When the flowers are newly waking
And the first green buds appear;
When the cherry tree is blooming
And the birds begin to sing,
O, there's nothing quite so lovely
As the early days of spring.

When the daffodils and jonquils
So enchanting to our gaze,
Lift their smiling faces sunward
In the early morning haze,
The lark is up and singing
Above the burgeoning tree,
His tiny heart rejoicing
At the Springtide Jubilee.