Three weeks of warm spring sunshine have been absorbed into the exterior walls of our pigeonnaire and this heat can be felt radiating back out in the late afternoon - early evening.
I have just been onto the terrace to inspect the progress of our Virginia Creeper - parthinocissus tricuspidata veitchii - and it is so apparent, even though it is rooted on the west facing wall, that the leaves are at least three weeks advanced to those that face the setting sun (where the buds remain fairly tightly closed.
I am very much hoping that the plant, now it its third year, will dominate this sunny wall by the end of the year - Take a look at these wonderful fleshy deep red leaves at they start to unfurl.
I am also delighted to see that the Field Maples that I lifted from our woodland are starting to come out in leaf; some more advanced that others.
I am acutely aware that as the sap rises it is possible that the tree will live only until its reserves have been used up and then it can fail.
Impressions at the moment though are that the extreme tips of the branches are being adequately served and fingers crossed, in two to three weeks time all of them will be in full leaf and self sufficient.
A bucket of water around the roots of each one (we still have not had a great deal of rain in the last month or more) will keep the root-zone moist.
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