Normal service will now be resumed

Profuse apologies for not having posted in so long, but life has been flat-out, foot-to-the-floor HECTIC here. We have been working very hard on the house and garden, to get them looking as good as possible for the new estate agent's photos.  The garden is still a work in progress, and there are still bits I need to sort in the house, but it's presentable now.

I have, I know, overdone things rather and I am down to an energy-less crawl these past few days.  We had a day off on Saturday to go up to the Antiques Fair at Builth Wells.  No photos as I forgot the camera, but it's the usual sort of scenes you get from me at antiques fairs!  We had a lovely - if tiring - day, and then threw all caution to the wind and did a long day at the car boot sale yesterday - up at 5 a.m. and not home until nearly 3 p.m.  It was worth it, but getting up this morning to repeat the experience wasn't, and we returned home without setting up (it was SO windy and bitterly cold) and I fell into my bed and slept for a couple of hours.

This afternoon I managed half an hour in the garden, setting a few seeds and planting the plants I got from the boot sale and from Morrisons at the end of last week.  Here are some photos of the garden and various plants etc (sorry for the lack of words):

I seem to be spending quite a bit on plants at Morrisons recently, but gosh the savings - £1 and £2 per plant (perennials and climbers and shrubs).

A Clematis Montana rubens I planted last year.

Some of the cowslips about the place.

This is the dark-leaved Jacob's Ladder  I bought at Malvern recently.  The flowers are more purpley than this photo shows.  I got some seeds for it from eBay this week, so will grow lots more - it's lovely.

Another (established) Clematis.  I've bought some more recently and put them in up on the bank which I cleared recently (behind the rockery).

The cheat's garden!  I took out the biggest weeds, ripped out all the spent Celendines and covered the lot with Muck Heap no. 2!!!

There were so many celendines around the apple tree - now put to bed until next spring.

The slightly boggy corner where there is a gigantic boulder buried - one which never made it to being incorporated in the house structure.

All the bulbs have now gone over so I have replanted with Geraniums and small hardy Fuschias.

Ferns unfurling by the pond.

Area by the rockery and planned (and abandoned) cascade now all tidied up and some clematis have been planted across the back where we've put a windbreak-type barrier up for privacy.

My little plastic greenhouse and the new polytunnel at the top end of the yard garden, full of seeds in trays and strawberry plants.

Lastly, the bed in the middle of the yard has been weeded and I've bunged some Nicotiana in the top corner, and spread a few Nigella seeds about.

An early bedtime is calling me again.  Hopefully I shall be able to get up to date with people's blogs now.