Hemerocallis emerging in the terrace bank

Ouch. Brambles. I had forgotten how many lurking brambles there are on these terraces.  And I always seem to find them just when I have taken off my gloves to wipe my nose or change the talking book on my mp3 player, and then forget to put them back on.

I have a playful collection of chestnut burrs and bramble spikes all competing for the pain award in my right thumb.

So far the chestnut burr wins as it is right where I put pressure on my secateur action.

Still. Today was a sitting down job day. And I love seeing the signs of spring.  It may take you a bit of staring to work out the picture; but these are the future hemerocallis plants coming out of the soil up at the top of the terrace bank.

I started here as I was hiding from Ulysse the horse who thought two apples today were not enough.  As he kept seeing me near his feed-the-horse-spot in the garden (outside the potting shed, about level with the first bank on this slope), he kept whinnying and looking intelligent and alert for more.  So I moved into the cover of the hedge further up to try and get on with work without a tonne of horse right beside me begging.

The hedge isn’t that thick to hide me completely. And my yelps of pain when I found the brambles with my bare hands were a bit of a giveaway too.

One day this hedge will be lush and plump and give me adequate horse cover.  But it is a few years off.

At least the plants are alive and putting on some early spring growth.  That’s cheering.

And although it took one day longer than I planned, I can now boast that the garden is thoroughly weeded (apart from the lawn bank) and ready for the new weeds which will be emerging any day now.