Yesterday Fox turned 37. (Blimey, my youngest child is 37 years old!) He hoped for and got a low-key quiet day - made MY day when he said he'd heard from two most important people in his world (his son, and me:). I looked at the International Wall of Clocks (one for here, one for where Fox is, and one for where his sister is) at the moment he was born 37 years ago and like all mums everywhere, was instantly transported back to the moment. I do remember a surprising lot from that morning, surprising as I'd been heavily morphined up for the C-section and after the first look at my newborn son had to call for a sick pan owing to the drug.

Spring is happening - but per the old Scottish saying strongly recommending not putting away the winter kit until mid-May, I'm contenting myself with strolls around the garden planning where and when. This is the first year in many years I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of full-on Spring so I can get out there and get some serious landscaping done. Paul is the same, fidgeting to get out there and get going on projects we've been planning all winter. The sheds are in dire need of better organisation. I want to build an insulated cupboard at the back end of the veranda, Paul wants to build the hedge troughs for the two 'postage stamp' beds in the front of the cottage plus build a decorative screen for the bins.

And now Spring is beginning to happen I am seriously over the moon to discover a rather large clump of stunning hostas smack at the foot of my craft shed, naturally right at the door so opening the shed to fetch supplies out is pretty much a non-happener until I can divide and relocate that huge clump. I've always wanted to have hostas in a garden and thanks to the lovely previous owner, I am the happy inheritor of a really beautiful variety of the species. 

We knew about the daffies as those were in full glory the first time we saw this property nearly a year ago (will be a year in late April). Those are beginning to bloom now - I'm flagging the clumps so I can divide them at the proper time to fill in some of the bare spots.

Between hard and soft scaping, we're going to be busy once Spring is really here. The big push is for the hedge troughs - to gain instant height whilst keeping roots out of the drains, we're planning raised beds in a trough style then planting bare root box (probably the slow growing dwarf Korean variety) to give a little 'kerb appeal'/minor privacy, and some draught protection.

So, Fox's birthday celebrated and Spring welcomed. Win-win:)