I fetched some wood for home from the field yesterday and brought back a big stone too. There was a bunch of broken rock in various sizes, which had been turned up by the plough. I went down to the plot to do the first mow of the year today and added the stone to the pond. It looked great on the beach, blending quite well with the pebbles and green slate.

The forget me not at home is flowering, while my much younger plant is now growing hopeful-looking new shoots. The irises all around the pond have started to fatten up and form flower spikes. I saw three different diving beetles while I was messing about in the water.

The bug hotel looks great, littered with a good mix of things I’ve planted and weeds that have self-sown – and a couple of bulbs that came from the pond soil. The callicarpa looks less great, with some brown leaves. I’m hoping it’s simply wind damage.

There are lots of seedlings coming up in the front bed now. I checked on the veg beds for progress. The cucumbers aren’t up yet, but there are a couple of probably cucurbit seedlings coming up outside the cloches.