Such a lovely afternoon alternating between watching the rugby and gardening. We were back from Glasgow and the day was clement - as chilly as you'd expect for Scotland in February but bearable and not raining or sleeting.

It was an afternoon of discovery, with my first attempt at sowing seeds for indoors and my new propagator. I have sown 2 trays of sweet peas (yay!) which are Dancing Queen and Lovejoy - white and deep purple. Also some of my own yellow Icelandic poppy seeds. They are all now in the propagator on top of the blanket box and I feel quite excited about watching for the new plants when they start to poke through the compost. Well hopefully! I also opened a bag of what I thought were 6 large Lily bulbs, however they turned out to be full of black boomerang-shaped seeds. I planted a few in a big terracotta pot and have kept the rest to try in the propagator later in spring. Janice thinks they are white lilies but we'll soon see.

I also took the opportunity to move some pots around. The rosemary bush in the white pot moved to the back. The tall green and yellow variegated shrub and what will be the yellow African lily moved to the front where they meet the colour scheme. I took the forget-me-not and broke it into 2 chunks which I planted in the raised bed. It's been sitting in a black plastic pot at the front for a year after I sowed the seeds and I feel has been a bit wasted, so hopefully it'll bulk up the beds and the lovely flowers will fit in just fine. 

I also identified a few plants who have started to bud for spring and cut them back to that new growth. In line with the lovely Dan Pearson sentiment (or instruction) to wait to cut back the skeletons until the new life has begun to poke through, I have been waiting. I also took a bit of my compost (such a small amount!) and mixed it with bought compost to do them a little mulch collar. As more new life comes I'll be ready to do the same. I especially enjoyed clipping the mint and thyme because the aroma was blissful even on such a cold day.

The front also got some work, I dug up a Lonicera that was in the garden when we moved in, and moved in to the back portion of the bed. I eyed the Bergenia, but there isn't any point digging it up until the plant delivery arrives. Not long now! I also tentatively cut the clematis back the the delicate buds already emerging on the dead wood and a lot of the dead leaves and clinging tendrils. Finally a sweep and a wipe down of the fences and I feel quite satisfied. Would have loved to garden all weekend but was obviously too busy living my spangly other life of glamour in Glasgow (one night only!).

So I'm thinking about what to do next and hoping for a nice morning on Thursday so I can do a bit before work. I'd like to paint the rockers next weekend depending on weather so i might be worth scrubbing them down. I also need to work on tying the jasmine up to try and coax it to cover the fence. I am also considering moving the Acer and the Azalea - the former to try and find at least one place it is happy and the latter to a more pleasing location. And of course the plants could arrive any time and will need reasonably swift attention.