Apple blossom.

 

 Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris) in its natural habitat which botanically speaking is sloping calcareous grassland. From the perspective of folklore Pasque Flowers grow where Danes' blood was spilled in battle. Seen here at Knocking Hoe, one of the few remaining sites in the country where they grow in abundance. Chalky for sure, blood-soaked I don't know.

 

 One of my favourite flowers in my back garden: Smyrnium perfoliatum. A busily self-seeding biennial or perhaps triennial. I bought one in a pot, let it self-seed and now it pops up here and there every year. Does well in dryish soil in half sun/half shade corresponding to a woodland edge habitat. 

 

 Wood Anemones (Anemone nemorosa) emerge from the leaf litter in deciduous woodlands, generally before the Bluebells though sometimes overlapping when Bluebells are early. Having said that A. nemorosa is less widespread than H. non-scripta despite the similar habitat.  

 

 Speaking of wildflower walks what is more glorious than walking through a Bluebell wood in spring? My home town of Hitchin is blessed with several in the surrounding countryside notably Hitch Wood (above), Wain Wood and West Wood. The Bluebells are early this year, mid-April and they are in full flower.

 With spring well and truly underway wildflower walks will be bountiful. Cowslips proliferate in the churchyard of St. Paul's Walden so that was a good place to start...

 

 Making a kitchen garden. A couple of days hard graft earlier in the week reviving a neglected veg patch at the music school. It will indeed provide some produce for their catering but I designed it be pleasing on the eye as much as edible.

 First step was to hard prune some shaggy Rosemary bushes and open up the space by transplanting them to run north-south rather than east-west. Then construct a raised bed using four chunky 'sleepers' that have been lying around for years. The bed was filled with compost (made on site) to be planted with herbs. I planted a line of Munstead Lavender alongside the paving and retained part of the grass by the hedge and the flowery margin opposite. An 'A' frame for growing runner beans was the final touch.

 A satisfying project, I'll post a few more entries about it but here is the end result: