There is a volcano in the garden. There is, truly there is. It smokes and everything!

On Wednesday of last week, The Builder lit a bonfire to rid us of all the dead tree and other burnable rubbish lying about. Then he packed couch grass turves around it. We have many of these. Two or three mountains, which were dug up when The Builder was putting the new raised beds in. Since then, he's been raking out the bonfire and putting the turves around it two or three times a day. It finally went out overnight last night. And so several heaps of unusable couch grass leaves and roots has now been transformed into a small mountain of very-usable-indeed ash. The garden will be very glad of it later. Now we just need to find somewhere to store it.

Things are doing well in the kitchen garden. The earlier sowings of peas and broad beans are now producing flowers. And I have potted up my tiny cherry tomato plants into seed pots. The other tomatoes will be ready for potting up probably in a week or two. Everything else is being quite slow to germinate, especially the peppers and the Cape gooseberries. I am tempted to re-sow those. They should be showing some sign of life by now. None of the summer beans are up yet, but they've not been in so long. I put two sweet potatoes into pots about a week ago. The temptation to rootle about and see what they're doing is very strong!

All the cherry trees have cherries. The ones we brought from the allotment are positively laden! The apple trees have tiny apples. The gooseberries have little gooseberries, the strawberries have little strawberries. The raspberries, blueberries and white currants have flowers. The red and blackcurrants are too small to have flowers. Or at least to be allowed to keep their flowers. And the rhubarb is positively Rampant! I'm about to make chutney and jam to complement the cakes, upside down puddings and stewed rhubarb!

The foxgloves by the pond are resplendent. They are about to flower and will be Truly Resplendent. And the bog sage has finally come back - just after I'd despaired and bought a new plant!

I can't report myself on what's happening on the allotment, for I haven't been for ages. The Builder tells me that the potatoes have finally begun to come through. And he has put guttering on the greenhouses and attached water butts. I assume they are collecting water. The water butt which is collecting rain water from the kitchen roof is full. He's just bought a 1k litre butt which he is collecting from Leeds tomorrow. I think that is going on the allotment. Our intention is to buy another one for the garden as well.

Oh - and we have a picnic table and chairs on the new patio now. Just as well, the table by the pond has been turned into a plant nursery, carefully netted against the pigeons!