We've been fairly busy in the garden this weekend. We've had a couple of nice sunny mornings, followed (yesterday) by dark clouds and strong winds in the afternoon, with positively gale force winds overnight. This morning we also had a beautiful sunny few hours. It's raining now, though.

The Builder has dug over the prickly corner by the pond and shifted the yellow rose bush. And I've pruned back the red thorny push and pushed the super prickly, dog rose back in amongst the branches of the thorn bush and along the fence. Must put some more trellis along the fence for the rose to snake along. I've also weeded down along the "shrubbery" along the fence. Alas - my curry bush has fallen apart. I've dug the roots out and bought a new one. It's only about 10 cm high!!! I think I might put it in a patio pot for the summer and plant it in the shrubbery come the autumn. That way it might stand a chance of not being over run by daisies, valerian, foxgloves and other vigorous cottage plants while it's still a baby.

I've made a start on the second triangular flower bed, but was forced to stop by the arrival of icy rain this morning. I still need to finish the shrubbery - but the rest of that needs digging over rather than just weeding. Perhaps next weekend.

The Builder has dug over the bed where the onions are to go. There's already garlic in there, but there were also cabbages (now eaten) and cauliflowers, which got frost mangled. He's also started preparing a new "permanent" runner bean bed. There's the beginnings of a compost trench. He's put the compost heap we've been using to bed now, hoping it will be nicely fermented and ready for use in the autumn. We really must dig up last year's compost in the old bed, up at the end of the shrubbery. Quite apart from the fact that we could use the compost (when we've got rid of the creeping buttercups), I'd like to restore it to shrubbery magnificence!!

There are seven sweet peas looking healthy and happy in the greenhouse. I'll plant them out along the fence when we come back from holiday after Easter. The orange tree has easily survived the winter. And the kiwi fruit is now in bud.

I have also planted a salad box with Giardina lettuce (has red, frilly outer leaves, and a hearted centre when mature) which is in the greenhouse. There is also now a tray of Romanesco calabrese seeds, also in the greenhouse. And I've planted 4 of the 10 Salad Blue potatoes in the potato bin in the hope that we might get some early salad potatoes. I've got the seed potatoes in my wardrobe in the spare room. The heating is not on in the spare room. It's quite chilly in there. The seed potatoes are sprouting anyway! I might need to plant them earlier than I had intended to - and just keep covering them with soil as the leaves come up - until May when hard frosts become less likely.

I had intended to start planting more seeds in pots/trays in the greenhouse. The threat of snowy showers this afternoon put me off. But next weekend I think I will do. It's not absolutely likely to snow in the greenhouse!

PS We went to the Chatsworth Garden Centre after lunch and dodged snow, hail and a spectacular rain storm to buy a dogwood to put where the yellow rose bush was (for winter interest and it won't matter if we can't reach it during the summer), and a beautiful, burgundy hellebore to put next to the one Penny and Steve gave us last spring. They're quite expensive if you buy properly established ones, but I figure if we buy a couple a year we'll end up with a pretty little winter edging along the path. Eventually!