Works in progress

Busy though we all have been over the last few weeks, there are still big areas of the garden at Stokesay that are waiting to be tackled, and now it’s a race against time to get the last of the perennials cut back before the new green shoots obliterate the old wood entirely; long-neglected nettle patches under control; flower beds weeded and mulched; prunings tidied away and compost reorganised. We walk round the garden alternately sighing with pleasure and moaning with regret at the work not yet done. Everywhere where weeding is being done, little chickens appear and peck up the worms. In the high walls over our heads, birdsong erupts and we feel certain that nests are being made.