A flower filled birthday in The View from the Terrace

Things have been a little easier here lately. A long awaited spell of spring sunshine has helped and Billie the dog seems to have made a complete recovery from her vestibular problem and is back to normal walks, though Louise still has to carry her up and down the steps.

It was my birthday last Wednesday. We went to a local garden centre. They described themselves as a garden village nestling in a valley below Castle Coch which is a beautiful local landmark; a fairytale castle with turrets peeping out of the wooded hillside. Well, there was a view of the castle from the carpark, if rather spoilt by a row of ugly retail outlets below. The garden centre itself was on the opposite side with the restaurant facing a few trees. What a lost opportunity, it should have faced the castle with a big window to frame the view.

We bought coffee and cake in the restaurant, very nice if rather expensive. Then we walked around the garden centre. There were some pretty multi coloured pots and I was very tempted until I saw the price, over £30 for a medium sized pot! Afterwards we went to the aquatic outlet to show Thomas Belle the fish. She was fascinated.

My presents were all plants which is fine by me. Hubby gave me a planter filled with early summer flowers and Louise bought me a bleeding heart plant, she thought the flowers looked like heart shaped fuschias, my favourite flowers. She also brought me a standard fuschia for good measure.

Now that the weather has improved we will hopefully spend some time sorting out the little garden which has gone rather wild from neglect over the last few months.