"In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." This month's discussion in the potting shed.

[MyNightWithMaud]

Grateful thanks to the magnificent Margaret Atwood (via A Mighty Girl) for the quote.

I have just come indoors after a delightful couple of hours' pottering in the garden. It's far warmer than yesterday and everything feels optimistic and vernal again, after yesterday's Arctic blast.

High point: Realising that most of last year's cuttings have taken. Given that I am useless with seeds this, I think, is my propagating future.

Low point: Realising that my newest fairy lights have already failed.

So you didn't use a liner then Bertha? I say this because round here there are many recently made large and small ponds, dug by farmers because of the occasional water shortages, some of which are never full and some are, the difference must be the liners.

shovetheholly We've got a pond that was dug by the last people who lived here and it was covered in black plastic with no water in it. We cleared it out and I'm now trying to decide what to line it with and which tarp to use. I googled natural pond and it did mention using newspaper, which I'm collecting but I'm not sure if it needs to made into papier mache or not.

Thanks for your post echt: it's always so interesting hearing from your side of the world. It's interesting that camellias flower in autumn in Oz - are they the same varieties that grow in UK and flower in spring here?

Gratuitous baby chicken picture. Two have hatched so far, I'm hoping for more yet. Very, very cute. Just out doing some pond work so I'll take some update pictures on pond progress and post again later.

so lovely! Congratulations.

I prefer your livestock to ours at the moment, there has been a massive rat running around the garden in broad daylight the last few days, I just went in the dairy to get some veg (it is a room off the living room we use as a larder) and the bloody rat was in there!!!

I am now officially beside myself.

Ooh to chicks and argh to rats!

We have just made our first NGS visit of the year - a lovely spring garden full of tulips (although obviously a mixed bag rather than distinct varieties, about which I am a bit sniffy), forget me nots and other seasonal gems. And delicious cake. Yum.

I think I detect too the first stirrings of growth on my tin bath water lilies. Hooray!

We had a rat issue in the chicken run last month. Resorted to poison in the end. Seems to have sorted them. They were at least some distance from the house though. Yours sound far too close for comfort Humphrey.

Pond has been tidied up around the edges and planted. The liner still showing on the left is where the bog garden is to be dug out. I just need the plants to grow now and cover all the liner and scruffy bits up. There are actually 50 plants in there. Pond has swallowed them up...

We're planning on putting a couple of granite slabs at the top edge so the children have an area to pond dip from and I can sit and dangle my feet in

What a lovely pond Bertha, and oh what a cute chicken.

Fabulous pond. Love the reflection of the trees in the water. What a good idea about a place to do pond dipping from, I may steal that idea.

I think the rat may have eaten some poison from next door or something, it was running around the garden in broad daylight afterwards. I expect a few rats in the country but not in my house!

The pond is fabulous. How long is it from end to end, Bertha?

Wonderful pond! Love the reflections!

Wow the pond is wonderful, I wonder how long it will take to grow in and how long before your dog goes for a swim! at baby chick.

Good point about the mixed Tulip colours maud when I try and salvage all mine I'll make a concerted effort to group the colours and not just bung them in. My favourite ones were orange and I'm not sure where I got them from.

Bertha - what a lovely setting for your garden you have with the woods. Your pond looks beautiful against them! I would be interested to know when you start to see wildlife in it. It is incredible to me how quickly things find a new habitat!

Yes, Geoff, I like colour mixes when they look as if they're deliberate - the Sarah Raven mixes are gorgeous, after all - but this was just a huge mess. I have more tulips open now and will put some pics on FB later.

beautiful pond bertha! (and adorable chick)

there is a house near me that has the most stunning display of pure white tulips in the front garden - absolutely masses of them on a little bank with some silvery grasses setting them off (i have only seen it in the car so haven't looked closer). it's a display i would never have thought of myself

i think i have killed my dianthus seedlings . i pricked them out and thought i had protected them well enough from last night's frost but sadly not

Lovely chicks and pond.

Halsall, so glad your ducks have come back!

My best garden news is that the hibiscus tree I thought we had killed is leafing (all the leaves fell off last summer after we cut down some trees that were screening it and it was exposed to a sudden cold blast) and my annoying news is that something has been eating my delphinium seedlings in my kitchen I think I might put coffee grounds on them and copper tape round the tray, in case it's a rogue slug. I've also moved the tray so it's balanced on top of the food processor.

Gorgeous chick and lovely pond. I have pond envy. And chick envy, actually.

We also went an NGS garden yesterday. The garden itself was a bit meh but they had a beautiful woodland that was literally carpeted with wood anemones and bluebells, and a fabulous spring meadow of Snakeshead fritillaries. Best cake I've had in ages, too.

I mowed all the grass yesterday. I don't normally do the whole lot in one day - it was epic. The orchard took ages as I was cutting the paths into it for the first time this year, so I had to think about it a bit. It was dark by the time I finished.

How long does your complete mow take, Rhubarb?
I had a 2 hour session with the mower last week and didn't even manage to do all of it. We're planning to be more selective this year, though, with the main lawn mown every week and the grass in other areas allowed to get long with paths through it. I plan to plant some cornflowers and ox-eye daisies in the more meadowy areas, as well.

About 3 or 4 hours depending on whether I'm veering towards perfectionism or 'it'll do', and on how long since I last did it as that affects number of treks to empty the grass box onto the compost heap.

I have found that mown paths through long grass take longer than just cutting the lot, however I'm still going for paths again this year as it was such a hit with the kids and wildlife. I'd like to add cornflowers and the like too - that's buried somewhere on the infinite to do list.

I have just had a small splurge on the Hayloft website, thanks to the voucher I received via Geoff, so have ordered salvia Amistad and an astrantia collection (optimistically, as most of my astrantias have died).

Here's a challenge for the potting shed crew: I have decided to reclaim the bed beneath the privet hedge as planting space, rather than somewhere to keep the recycling. It has absolutely nothing going for it: it's very narrow, the soil is impoverished thanks to the ancient hedge (although I've added a load of farmyard manure to improve it) and it's shaded by both the privet and the wall behind it. It's not completely hopeless because violets have self-seeded there but what else might grow there? Purple, preferably, and robust as it may get trampled when we put the bins out.

I'm glad you got the voucher maud Dh was leafing through their catalogue and remarked on the beauty of their creative images pots. I had to come clean that I had already ordered them and the reason delivery was free was because I'd splurged over £50.

I've just been googling what to do with Autumn ferns and they like shade, can't think of anything purple though. Heuchera? Honesty?

I've just been looking at that pot collection. Very lovely. ::sits on hands::

I wonder whether heuchera could cope with the very low light level? I do ::blush:: have some new heucheras that don't yet have a home, so I could try. I love honesty - must get some more - but it would be too tall for the space.

I've known some low varieties of campanula cope happily in dry shade. Or there's always Vinca, but it can go feral.

::smacks forehead::

I have some vinca minor left over from a collection I bought last year. They could be ideal, as the bed is so small and so hemmed in that they won't be able to roam at will!

maud if sunny, try thyme as it likes poor soil and being trampled