Daffodils

Despite the vagaries of the weather predictions, it proved in the end to be mostly clear this morning, with rainy patches this afternoon, and not too cold. (This in contrast to the 'mostly clear' forecast on Thursday, and 'mostly wet' forecast last night.)

We made the most of the clear morning, and planted 200-300 mixed narcissi in a patch on the east border of the garden, at the top of the copse, before the bank. They're around the flowering currant we moved in a few weeks ago, and between trees that pre-date our arrival. Several hundred daffodils do not go far: they're around 10cm apart, which means that they only cover about 4 square meters. I hope they'll put on a good show in the spring, and naturalize well: they'll need some attention in a couple of years, to split up clusters and spread them out further. If there are any gaps, we'll deal with them next season (plant some bulbs next autumn in a nursery bed, let them flower, and then lift them to replant in the gaps); it looked like there were some reasonably small narcissi in the mix, so they might take a year or so to settle in. We'll probably get another few hundred next summer, and extend the planted area upwards, but they'll do for now: it's a nicely visible spot from the kitchen window, and should suit them. The rest of the summer bulbs (alliums, tulips, etc) that we've got ready will go into a new bed (more bed cutting awaits!) in the top corner of the garden, where there will, one day, be a seating area. Next weekend?

Having used the clear morning and early afternoon in the garden, we popped out to the shops this afternoon: new radiator valves (the big radiator in the dining room sprung a leak, and has been completely off for the last ten days), a new bike pump, and a food shop. Much excitement... I'll get round to the radiator repairs once I've worked out where the filling valve for the central heating is: my current best guess is behind the panel in the airing cupboard, with the hot water tank, but I don't really have much idea.