Some Warmth In The Air

With the warmth comes lots of growth. Some of the trees already have new spring leaves, but there are still some that are just starting to sprout. I find that a bit of a relief to see the new buds, and know the trees have survived another year. After one particularly dry summer I thought we might lose our Liriodendron. When its leaves came back the following spring they were very sparse. A few years on and it seems to have recovered. We weren't so lucky with our Davidia or a Betula a few years ago. They had been growing over 25 years quite happily, but suddenly died and left a big gap when they were removed.
At least with flowers I can quickly find something to fill the empty spot left after a death. A tree is a different story.

My Livingston daisies are bright and colourful in the sunshine. They need the sun to open and be pollenated by the busy bees. The setting sun and cloudy days see them sulking, their flowers closed up.

My Babianas are another bright pretty flower and have done a lot better since I moved them.

The birds are enjoying the sunshine too, the blue wrens have their mating plumage on, and some of them have started nesting. Our grey thrushes have come back to their usual nest in the greenhouse. With a little bit of renovating it must have been good to go. She doesn't seem all that pleased to have someone taking photos though.