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The Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) are quite simply magnificent this year. The colour is the most brilliant blue and the scent that gently hangs in the air is a perfume for the Gods! Their cloth of blue  is carpeting most of the woodlands around us this Springtime and makes a walk in the countryside a perfect joy. Hyacinthoides non-scripta (formerly Scilla non-scripta) is a bulbous perennial plant, found in Atlantic areas from north-western Spain to the British Isles, and also frequently used as a garden plant. It is known in English as the common bluebell or simply bluebell. In spring, H. non-scripta produces a nodding, one-sided...

The European Peacock (Aglais io), more commonly known simply as the Peacock butterfly, is a colourful butterfly, found in Europe and temperate Asia as far east as Japan. Formerly classified as the only member of the genus Inachis (the name is derived from Greek mythology, meaning Io, the daughter of Inachus). The Peacock can be found in woods, fields, meadows, pastures, parks, and gardens, and from lowlands up to 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) elevation. It is a relatively common butterfly seen in many European parks and gardens.   The butterfly hibernates over winter before laying its eggs in early spring,...

Can we at last say Spring is well and truly here! Today I caught my first glimpse of an early flowering Tulip a beautiful red and yellow variety a splash of intense colour against the dark cold soil. Tulips are one of my favourite flowers with over 150 species and more than 3000 varieties there are plenty to choose from. Most Tulips sprout a single flower but some varieties can have up to 4 on a single stem. Tulips are part of the Lily family and can be found in almost any colour from the darkest almost black to the...

Okay so it's not every ones favorite job but sometimes it just has to be done and all the better for it!  Sorting out, tidying up and what better time than Spring for a good sort out...A Spring Clean! If you are anything like me I tend to save things you just never know when it may come in useful, what ever it may be but sooner or later all these saved little treasures have to be sorted.....well I tend to do a certain amount of joinery and always hang onto to the odd screws that tends to be left...

Hopefully we have got through the worst of the winter weather and okay I know up here in the Yorkshire Dales we can still get snow at the beginning of May but at least we know it's not going to be around for long!..... Spring is a wonderful time of year, new lambs running in the fields, birds beginning to serenade us in the mornings and new growth on tree's and in the garden Snowdrops are at their best, Daffodils are starting to bring sunshine into the world and new buds on all the shrubs are ripening.  Anticipation of long...