Spring

I don't have to tell many of you what a long cold winter it's been, even in Tuscany. The garden has been feeling particularly neglected because The Gardener has had to refocus on being The Writer. I finally realised it was up to me to get the season started. Fortunately I had a helping hand to crank-start my enthusiasm.

Now that's what I call A Friend!

So I was now inspired to toil on my myself.

Nobody told me it would look worse before it looked better!

Of course it wasn't long before The Writer emerged from his studio for an official inspection.

Apparently I passed because he disappeared back into the studio.

Fortunately there have been spots of colour here and there.

The Pansies have flowered right through the winter - amazing.

Gorgeous little green beetles have appeared all over the mint.

Now The Gardener would probably evict them but I figure we've tons of mint and they are so pretty. Fingers crossed they don't eat tomatoes!

Sadly it's not been a great year for the irises.

I'm sure The Gardener will reappear soon to plant the rest of his vegetable seedlings and pontificate on serious gardening matters. He's never going to totally get rid of me again because I've developed quite a liking for weeding.

Edit Note: As the photos were slow to load in this post, I have edited for resizing so I apologise if the posts now appear out of order.