Ladders adequate, if rather wobbly. I’d rather not rest the top of the ladder against the gutter. This shouldn’t be necessary in the future if I do this cutting back every year. It’s hard to tell which way the stems are growing, so there may be some orphaned stems.

19 May 19

Could this rather bare (of flowers) patch, just where I had the ladder, be due to this late cutting back? Get both clematis monata out of the eaves after they’ve flowered this year.

First signs of snowdrop flowers. Small but perfectly formed. There’s scope for lots more, particularly round large herbaceous perennials, like thalictrums, which have now been cut right back.

First frogs seen in pond. A cwtch of three.