I’ve just come back from trying to do a bit of work at the very wet nursery. When the ground is so sodden its not possible to do any gardening which is very irritating because now is the time to cut down most of the grasses and dogwoods. I would make too much mess if I tried to go onto the borders now. So I have to content myself by either doing some potting or working in the ‘wilder’ parts of the site where it doesn’t matter if I leave soggy footprints everywhere.

Today I cut back some of the older willow stems and tried to have a bonfire. The bonfire was a bit tricky because everything was so wet but I managed to burn some of it. I might tackle some of the brambles which are creeping determinedly in from the east hedge. I can just about keep up with them but I’m losing the battle with the blackthorn which has now crept about 15ft in from the original hedge line. I’m really not sure how to prevent it from taking over completely.

There are plenty of signs of life in the garden including snowdrops coming up. the Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’ in full flower as is the winter Honeysuckle. The everlasting wallflower has been flowering for months and there are even a few flowers on Geranium ‘Bill Wallis’. There are a few primroses in flower and some cowslips too! The hellebores are budding up nicely so it won’t be long before they open up. We all need some sun instead of these endless grey rainy days, maybe my spirits would be lifted rather than deflated as they are now.