Painting Preparations

This morning we finished getting the kitchen in order, ready to start painting tomorrow, and we've spent this afternoon planting bulbs.

We've extended the daffodil collection up towards the lane, still along the edge of the garden, and into the raised bank. To start with, it was a contiguous drift, but as we went along, we've changed it into clumps and groups. These then continue all the way round that corner of the garden, past the arbour, and along the bank that lies beneath the wall at the edge of the garden (next to the lane). The daffs, as mentioned, are from Fentongollen: 50kg (about a thousand) of mixed bulbs for naturalizing.

Once we were into the bank, between the clumps of daffodils, we've planted the Muscari armeniacum (blue grape hyacinths), the Puschkinia scilloides var. libanotica (Striped Squill), and the Scilla siberica (Siberian squills, rather like bluebells). These will—hopefully—complement the English bluebells in the ground already, although be a little earlier.

We're not done yet; we've probably put about half the bulbs in the ground, but it's a good start.