However work has not been abandoned as my 'knight in shining armour' or should it be with shiny spade, alias my husband, has completed many tasks that would normally take me hours.

He has performed major surgery on the old apple tree to maintain its table-top appearance, without getting baptised in the pond.

Ivy has been cut back seriously from the mature oak tree trunks at the bottom boundary.

The woodland walk has been cleared ready for a mulch of bark.

He has bagged up the remaining autumn leaves which have lingered this year, probably due to the absence of much frost.

Meanwhile outside new flowers are emerging all the time to compete with those still flowering from January. In the left hand bed it is the first year that the huge lime green heads of Euphorbia Characias wulfenii have appeared. My new purple crocus 'purpureus grandiflorus' in the bottom golden gravel rockery emerged rather varied in colour - the earliest being mauve and the later being purple. The big dutch crocus in the heather bed still need more dark purple and white varieties to contrast with the abundant mauve striped ones - they look good under the dormant Cotinus coggryia. This year they have emerged before the spring heathers.

Under the Eucalyptus tree in the pond gravel bed I replanted the clump of Leucojum vernum- they have white bells tipped with green and look like snowdrops and they are known as Spring snowflake. They were acquired from Daffodil Dell at Swettenham a few years ago(see February diary).

Frog activity in the pond has started early on 23 February.

Rode Hall visit for the snowdrop walks.

Janet's Home Garden - the highlight at this time of year is always her well organised heated greenhouse with dainty alpine collection of unusual spring bulbs - always a delight to see. She had put fresh grit on the rockery bed which really set off the foliage planting. 'Dynamite' was the order of the day to remove an invasive bamboo to make room for an expanding bed of primulas.

Jean's Home Garden at Eaton - we managed a tour despite the threat of rain. This garden is always attractive looking out onto open countryside - she regularly sees the foxes playing in the field beyond. Her new hedge with different varieties of shrubs was coming on nicely. Over refreshments efficiently she made a list to distribute the seedlings we had coveted on the visit.