My Cat Likes to Hide In Boxes

Very exciting (well, for me) evening, with two boxes awaiting on our return home. One was stuffed full of bulbs:

• 30 'Cheerfulness' (a bicolour double narcissus)
• 100 Puschkinia libanotica (bluebell/hyacinth like)
• 100 Anemone blanda (mixed colours)
• 25 Camassia esculenta
• 50 botanical tulips
• 50 small Alliums

And the other had some of our fruit bushes/plants:

• Two of the blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum 'Top Hat' and 'Fruiting Dixi')
• 30 raspberry canes: ten each of 'Glen Cova', 'Malling Jewel', and 'Tulameen')
• 75 strawberries: 25 each of (early) 'Honeoye', 'Cambridge', and (late) 'Florence'.

We'll try to get them in the ground on Sunday. For the moment, they're sitting (bare-rooted, but wrapped up) in the utility room, which is cold and a bit damp. The bulbs, too, will hopefully go in the ground over the weekend. I'm delighted, because with the raspberries especially, the fruit beds will start to look as intended.

And the title of the post? Well, one of the cats has a particular penchant for empty boxes, so once I'd unpacked the plants, there was an all-too-tempting box on the floor, so in went the cat, with a little call and a bounce. So everyone was pleased with the delivery.

This morning, before starting work, and as the sun was just clearing the hills, I picked up another few bags of leaves. Despite the strong wind, it wasn't too bad: they're nice and wet, so they're sticking together well. I've cleared around the pots opposite the kitchen window, and around the potted strawberries (where the gladioli were until Sunday), and cleared the front garden (bit of a wind trap, so they accumulate). Looking much better...but there's still another half-dozen bags to collect, by my reckoning. Yes, I should have done them by now.