Summer in a brown sack

Yesterday the promise of summer arrived in a large brown paper bag - in the form of 20 raspberry canes and 1 tayberry

We missed the optimum planting time in November so had to go for March instead. Once planted, the 'fruit garden' will almost be complete, just the kiwi, fig and strawberries left to plant out.

The fruit trees planted in the Autumn are still alive. At the weekend they were lightly pruned where necessary and the area around the roots, weeded and mulched.
Three strands of wire have been fixed to the south facing wall ready to train the raspberry canes and several bucket loads of well rotted compost/manure have been added to the bed in readiness.

Although unpleasant to work in the biting easterly winds of the past few days have been ideal for drying out the ground making digging now possible. Each time we return from the yard we bring back 5 large plastic buckets full of compost for the vegetable garden. The pile is getting higher and higher yet the compost/muck heap at the yard doesn't appear to be getting any smaller.

Despite it being grey and bitterly cold it is almost possible to believe that spring and summer aren't too far off.