Our garden is not looking like I had hoped it would by now. We have pigs immediately in front of the patio. Hopefully they will help clear all the dock weeds, but right not it’s an eyesore. The rabbits have destroyed most of the new planting I did in the autumn and all the new growth of previous perennials. And then there is the vegetable garden. I worry I killed the lavendar with my hard prune at Christmas. The veg beds have little sign of life in them except for slugs. Even the cover crop of clover I planted last autumn has turned out to be pure grass.

Things are not looking good at the moment.

I wrote the above 2 weeks ago in my gardening journal. I was feeling a bit bleak. Defeated if I am honest. However, in the past 2 weeks, spring feels like it has come. We’ve had lots of sun and some warmer days. And with this, the garden grows. The sun does not undo the damage from the rabbits and the pigs are still immediately off the patio. But the sun does help with plant growth. Now we can see a couple of our vegetable coming to life – cabbage, onions, radish, spinach, and lettuce. There is hope.

Change can often feel bleak. It can feel like no progress is being made. Sometimes it needs a lot of patience and a few ‘sunny’ days. And then all the hard, consistent work you put in appears to other as an overnight success.

Photo by Sandie Clarke