AS IN THE LONG AGO

This white celandine is one of my favourite things in the garden. I bought it years ago from a local plant sale and in flowered for several years, only to vanish. For two years there was no sign of it, and then I discovered it growing in another part of the garden entirely. Now it's reappeared in its original position too. I love the way seedlings pop up all over the garden at this time of year. The only difficulty is sorting them from the weeds. I don't think I'll ever have to buy parsley or coriander seeds again - they sprout all over the vegetable garden.

I've posted photos of these ash trees at the bottom of my garden before. I decided this year to take a photo every day - as far as possible. I've had to cheat a little, taking more than one some days and none at all on others, when I was at work in January and February and it was dark when I left and returned, and when I've been away for a few days. I couldn't take them at the same time every day, but I don't mind that. In January there were several shots that looked identical, but there's always a way of telling them apart - birds in the tree-tops, tractors in the fields, all sorts of small details. 

I know I've been neglecting this blog, but February was cold and dark and March was very busy. And now spring is here. We visited the National Botanical Gardens of Wales near Carmarthen on a cool, breezy Easter Monday. I can't decide which greenhouse I like best. The one with the plastic bottles is a lot cheaper, but going inside Norman Foster's dome is like being transported to a different country.