April Showers, Birds and Blossom

Anna's apple blossom

Today is May Day, which in the UK means it's the unofficial start of Summer. Although the weather outside is more 'April Showers' than 'May Day Flowers', it is international guerilla gardening day. So we're celebrating our gardens today..

Both of my apple trees and Anna's are fully blossoming, thank goodness. Trying to tell DangerBaby & the Naughty last September that all the apples were gone, but would be back... was a tricky one.

Anna's been dreading that the tree would have a bad apple season just to annoy her but with the amount of blossom I think it will be ok.

One of Sarah's peaches
Skin as soft as a baby's bottom..
[looks a bit like one as well!]

Anna's sister returned her bird table (with bird seed and fat balls) last week. She’s also been kindly plant sitting all their large garden plants and garden things while Anna & her family moved. The move and baby have meant that garden design has been at the bottom of Anna's list of things to do and she has been without her gorgeous plants that make her garden feel like home. Both Anna and I have a lot of gardening to do, with the help of the Naughty & DangerBaby respectively!

I'm waiting for my peach trees to arrive, sadly my last one died with a severe case of 'builders not caring about plants while Sarah moved out'. So I've cleared a large patch near a wall and I hope to be adding peaches to the harvest of apples, pears, and damsons. Harvest is hopefully many sunny days away, so all we can do is plan ahead!

In the meantime with the birds singing, rain falling and the plants all sprouting Spring has arrived.

Swallows blanket

Folk law tells us that the arrival of the Cuckoo is the true sign that spring has sprung.

In Worcestershire (where Granny Annie lives) they often say 'that the cuckoo is never heard before the Tenbury fair' - which is normally held on April 21^st.

In Downton, south of Salisbury, in Wiltshire there is a annual Cuckoo fair held on the greens of the picturesque village marking the “opening of the gate” to let the cuckoo through and marking the coming of spring.


Swallows also should return to British soil in April. I've not seen any yet but will gladly cheer in their arrival. I believe there is even a Swallows day celebrated to mark their return home. I'll be glad to see them and the swifts dance in the twilight sky chasing all those pesky insects.

These primula are all over our gardens at the moment!

Pssst...
We're supposed to sneak some sunflower seeds into secret places today. A world full of sunflower sunshine flower heads later on in the year doesn't seem a bad idea. So why not indulge in some guerilla gardening this lunchtime?!