Christie enjoyed her luxury cruise, confident that her domestic robot would take care of her home. And it did - with horrific consequences.  

  The aquilegia have been glorious this year, bringing washes of colour to my small urban garden. A trip to Carr Farm Garden Centre, in Meols, yielded several new plants which I've already potted on. The clematis Westerplatte (dark red) and clematis Multi Blue (purple/violet) have each found homes in the wooden troughs-with-trellis that I bought last summer, one in each, and they're sharing those with some lavender. A sturdy Dicentra spectabilis, more commonly named as Love Lies Bleeding because of its dangly pink heart-shaped flowers, needed to be re-potted immediately as it had clearly outgrown the pot it was sold in. If all goes well it should flower every year for years to come. I also bought a small tray of pink pelargonium Zonale. Now, until last summer I wasn't keen on geraniums or pelargoniums, (don't ask me which is which!), as I always felt they were too obvious and safe a choice. But then  bargain price tempted me to buy some, and they went on to flower for s...

Jim knows how to make himself at home. He does have a dog bed of his own. Several, even. But given half a chance he much prefers to snuggle down in a soft pillow and duvet. Rosie is still enamoured of the knitted blanket. While he's busy snoozing, I've been busy tweaking my YouTube site, improving video descriptions and creating a few Shorts, all with the aim of increasing viewing figures and subscription numbers. Maybe it's just a matter of persevering? I'm enjoying filming and video-making, anyway. Rosie and Jim had a check-up at the vets last week, and were both given a clean bill of health. Jim weighs 10lbs. He's supposed to be a chihuahua. Erm, right.... A chihuahua crossed with a Jack Russell Terrier, we had supposed. This vet was unconvinced, reasoning that Jim's bigger than a Jack Russell, broader across the back, and with a noticeably wider head. Rosie is more dainty, and weighs 5.3lbs, which is still bigger than a chihuahua but easily smaller than a ty...

The mystery bulb has revealed itself to be a tulip, and a rather pretty one at that. I had found a bulb abandoned on a wall. Nobody was around and there was no sign of any gardening activity, such as spades or trowels on the adjacent lawn. When I passed a second time, later that same day, the bulb was still there. So rather than have squirrels devour it, or let some oik fling it under a car's wheels just to watch it squash, I brought the bulb home and planted it. It was fun, actually, to watch it grow and wonder exactly what it might turn out to be. Obviously too big a bulb for snowdrops or crocus, my first guess was daffodil. Wrong! The green shoot which grew was too sturdy for daffs. Okay, a tulip? Yes, as tulip-shaped leaves emerged from the strong shoot - but what colour? Tulips come in a multitude of colours and forms, some glossy, some with raged edges to their petals. It's been a game of wait and see. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy! Spring has sprung, and what a wet one it...