A New Start

I have not been blogging for some months, as have been unwell, but the health is improving, and being a new year thought I should show you some lovely clematis that are flowering in the garden just now.
Most of these have been established now for about three years, and are really "doing their thing".
I do like clematis as companions to roses, and most of mine are growing along with climbing roses.
This year I planted a lot of sweet peas, and now realise how, that if you want them to keep flowering you have to pick them every day, so all the neighbours get bunches as well as inside our own home. The perfume is just divine.
Last winter we laid a lot of pea straw over the garden as a mulch, I certainly do not like the look of it at first, but it certainly takes care of a lot of the weeding, as laid newspapers underneath it. We now have a source of wood shavings removed from calf rearing sheds, along with the manure, and using that for mulch as well. A lot of dairying is done around here, and all we have to do is go and bag up as much of last season's as we want.
My daughter came down for Christmas and brought with her 25 20 litre plastic buckets, which we are growing potatoes in, starting at the bottom with rotting straw, and as the potatoes appear covering with this calf "poo". It took just 20 days for the buckets to be full of manure, and the potatoes out the top, so are hoping what is underneath is as good as what is on top.