Rhodies,Roses, & A Rat

 I have finished my night shifts and can now concentrate on the garden,and the allotment.The weather has been fluctuating between wet and windy,and sunny.The Mallus Braeburn has been mostly pollinated now.It will be interesting to see how many Apples form,and how many are left after the June drop.The Ceanothus behind the Apple Tree is covered in hundreds of flower buds.These are opening up slowly and soon will scent the garden with honey.

 The other day I thought I saw a Squirrel run across the grass.I looked again and it was a brazen brown Rat.Sat calmly eating the birds suet.The food has now moved off the ground and the Rat has not been back.Because the birds are messy eaters its funny to see the Mice and Rats move in to eat the spoils.The neighbourhood Cats patrol through our garden and will predate these.There are Tawny Owls that also hunt at night.It is natural selection pressure.I always thought Rats were nocturnal.He does remind me of Ratatouille (from the Disney Pixar film).It reminded me to regularly clean up bird food and move the feeding stations around.

 The changeable weather has made the Rhododendrons start to flower in the back garden.This Pink and White flower with a red wine splash is called Sappho.

 In the pot behind the Sappho there is the Red flowering Wilgens Ruby.It is a lovely blood red colour.The flower buds actually contain many flower buds tucked in together.When they break out they flower en mass to make a ball of colour.

 They are lovely flowers.They will look spectacular together.I planted them in new pots with Ericaceous compost.I look forward to many Mays with these flowering.

 The Rhododendron at the front is called Purple Splendour.It has not flowered yet but the buds have begun to unfurl.This one sits under the front room window shaded by the neighbours Japanese Maple.

 The Betula Utilis continues to grow strongly.the main stem is thickening and the colour of the bark is changing at the base from a dark brown colour to this grey/tan colour.This changing colour will hopefully spread up the main trunk and the side branch.I love Silver Birch Trees.They are tall.slim,and have lovely leaves that rustle in the wind.The white bark will glow ghostlike near our window.

 The David Austin Moliniux Roses are all growing on well.This one Rosebush has the first Rose bud of the year.One Rose bush looks sickly and has droopy leaves.I do not know if a lawn mower or strimmer has damaged the main stem below.It is like the plants water has stopped going up.That means there are four Rose bushes still growing strongly.I may need to buy a replacement to keep the Rose hedge going.

The view from the Conservatory window shows the newly cut grass, and hop a long the Pigeon walking along the grass.My female figurine is glowing white.The rain filled clouds are visible in the horizon.
 The sun is shining now as I write this.Its amazing how green it all looks.Their are Aquilegias nearly flowering under the window.The Strawberries and Pineberrys are flowering in the rain/sunshine.Its a pleasure now to go out every day to see whats growing and whats flowering.