Freeing violets

 It has been a pleasant afternoon with no rain and a lessened wind force. I have been freeing violets from the oppression of tough grasses and a cotoneaster. The violets seeded themselves into the cracks and crevices of the steps leading up to the shed. This year they did not flower very well.









Happily, this afternoon, I discovered that they had been spreading themselves near young ferns and under the cotoneaster to the side of the steps. Perhaps there were more flowers than I realised, or perhaps the few flowers I saw were champion seed pingers. Whichever it was, I'm hoping for a violetty spring.



Before I came in for tea and biscuits I looked for daffodil and snowdrop leaves poking out of the ground. I usually see some during December but not this year.

Triteleia, perennial sweet pea, and the irrepressible rose

After doing some more eucalyptus shredding and stick piling, I wandered around looking for early signs of spring. People are talking of snowdrops and primulas. Our wild snowdrops and primroses are still keeping their heads down for now. I've still only found one very sheltered clump of snowdrop shoots in the north-west shade of the terrace dry stone wall. I found a few other spring plant signs though and a lot of roe deer spoor.

Triteleia shoots showing

New Hard Fern (Blechnum spicant) on the front bank

A cypress tree on the front bank. I'll have to dig this up.

New moss (Polytrichum formosum) among the old. Also on the front bank.

The first sweet pea shoots (Lathyrus latifolius) by the dry stone wall.

The irrepressible rose growing out of a fern stump

Toadlet's old bench

And I enjoyed the cold, diffused, afternoon light on the loch through the trees