There was a pile of steaming mulch at the entrance – so we did what is the custom, and helped ourselves.

What a difference a little mulch can make! Especially the bottom path near the verbena – much safer now that it’s not a steep bank of slippy clay.

Sadly some of the veg we planted out aren’t doing that great – like the mini-cukes, the summer squash and the red kale. But maybe it’s just too cold.

The snap peas planted at the top of ‘Alberta’ are doing ok – though in a cold-weather suspended-animation kind of way.

Below them is the bed of red onion, planted in autumn.

The pond is brimming with life and has a newt living there.

No sign of butterflies, though we did see a sleepy looking ladybird.  And one big massive bumblebee bumbled through mid-day.

On one of our mulch trips we collected all the plastic along the path.  Felt good to try to tidy the place up.  I also trimmed and weeded the grass, bindweed and nettles from along the edge of the communal pathway along the railway.

Tulip are still in flower, and also potted daffodil.  Pink potted cyclamen up at the top (almost but not entirely out of view in the picture above) is still in flower, but fading.  The violet and sweet woodruff that I transplanted seem to be surviving.