Many people are saying that March has come in like a lion and left like a lion. It certainly has felt this way and ended very cold with more snow and a lot of wind! I have to admit to feeling some frustration that Spring is still holding off and I will have to wait a while longer before I have some lovely flowers to sell. I am trying to tell myself to be patient. If you are a gardener you have to work with whatever weather nature throws at you and that is just part of the job. But after a week of running round the garden rescuing tunnels blown off in the wind, baby plants being battered and not much sleep from hearing the wind rattling round the house and wondering what damage is being caused in the garden, I am more than ready for the end of winter and the start to spring.
With the weather so wild this week I have had a cosier time inside pricking out my young seedlings and I thought I would show you how I do it so you can have a go at home yourself too.
Below you can see my tray of young seedlings that I sewed a few weeks ago. They have now developed strong leaves and are ready for growing on in bigger pots. This process is called pricking out.
First I added some compost into some 3 inch pots. I gave these a water to make the compost moist.
Then I eased out my seedling from the tray by carefully going underneath it with my fingers and being careful not to tear its roots. I held the seedling by the tip of its leaf, not the stem or roots so it did not get damaged.
I made a hole in the compost and placed the seedling in, carefully pressing some compost around it to firm it in place.
After planting I labelled the pot with the name of the seedling and date and then gave it a water with the fine rose of my watering can. These will now grow on in the warmth and light until they are ready to harden off to plant outside.
Also this week I have planted up some agapanthus I had. This is my first year growing these. I have planted some in pots and some outside under the fleece when it is not blowing away! I know they will need frost protection so it will be interesting to see if they survive outside under some mulch compared to the pots I will be able to bring in next winter.
Also this week I have been feeding the roses with a top dressing of granular rose food. I have forked this in to the top of the soil around the rose bushes. They are just starting to show their leaves now.
Outside it has felt like the rest of the garden is still fairly dormant. As March has been so cold it does feel like time is standing still while you wait for the garden to burst into bloom. I ventured out between rain showers today to take some pictures and show myself that Spring may be holding out on us but there are signs of life in the garden.
The first daffodils of the year.
I love to have daffodils in the house in the spring and although we have many in the garden I would like to increase those that I have this year to include more unusual scented varieties that you would not find in the supermarket. My job for the autumn!
Erythronium dens-canis or Dogs Tooth Violet.
These lovely flowers can be seen dotted amongst the daffodils on the front lawn. 
Scilla Siberica or Siberian Squill.
These pretty dainty flowers are found all over the garden at this time of year and at the moment are providing some colour in the rose beds. 
Primula vulgaris or primrose
These beautiful flowers are the first to appear in the rockery close to the steps and are such a cheerful site when the rest of the rockery is lacking colour. 
Happy Easter and heres hoping that April will bring us lots of sunshine and lots of flowers!
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