….and so it begins….

I am a research scientist by trade and I have stayed at home today to write a fellowship application (money to persue my own project and to start work to build my own lab group). Needless to say these applications are hard to write! Still in my Pjs (I tend to write a lot in my Pjs) I got up to look out of the window for some inspiration, willing spring on! I couldn’t believe it when I saw my first, fully blooming iris in one of my pots of pansies. How exciting! It definitely gave me a boost this morning.

The days are getting longer and the bulbs are coming up. Happiness in a sentence.

Happy Spring!

Laura x

Jenny wren and the pansies

Over the past week we’ve had a little visitor to our garden. A really cute little Jenny wren. I must admit I nearly jumped out of my skin the first time that I saw her. I thought that she was a mouse! It seems though that Jenny has taken a liking to our patio pansies. She potters around trying to find bugs. Last Saturday she caught a lime green caterpillar that was half her size. She was thrashing it around on the fence, I presume to kill it before eating it! She’s cute and I hope she sticks around for the RSPB Garden Bird Watch tomorrow!

In my grandfather’s footsteps…

When I was three years old, I remember waking up at my grandparents’ house on the day of my aunty’s wedding. My nan was singing ‘morning has broken’ as she threw back the curtains to a beautiful new day. She was smiling. Not only because it was her daughter’s wedding day but because of the view that greeted her that morning. My grandfather’s creation, his honeysuckle and peony filled garden.

Since that moment, on that particular day, I realised just how much joy gardens can bring. Fast forward 25 (nearly 26) years and I find myself here, desperate to recreate all the emotions, joys and love I feel in my grandparents’ back garden, in my own.

With cuttings and seed from my grandfather, a few sunny days and a willingness to learn, I hope you will join me in watching my garden grow.

Laura x