Six on Saturday – My Gardening Week

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Six on Saturday is a weekly meme originally hosted by The Propagator but now in the tender care of Jim at Garden Ruminations.

Yet another week with only limited opportunities to get out in the garden although I did manage to finish mulching the raised beds and borders. I was going to say the first signs of spring are here but, as I write this on Friday evening, it’s pouring down again and the wind has picked up.

One – First hyacinths in bloom.

Two – Rosemary bush flowering already.

Three – Groups of narcissi nearly in bloom planted around the remains of two very overgrown trees that were removed last year.

Four – New leaves of chives and fennel in the herb garden

Five – More young growth, this time the neat rosettes of a sedum.

Six – Allium schubertii sowed in the autumn from saved seed. However I’ll need patience because I understand it can take 3 – 5 years before they reach sufficient size to flower.

Do check out the posts of other participants by following the links in the comments section of Jim’s post. If you fancy taking part yourself but don’t know where to start, here’s the participant’s guide.

Women of WW2… In 12 Historical Novels

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Here are twelve historical novels I’ve read that highlight the different ways women contributed to the war effort at home and abroad. Follow the link from each title to read my full review.

The Woman with the Map by Jan Casey – Plotting the location of bombs falling during the Blitz as part of the ARP
The Letter Reader by Jan Casey – Censoring letters to and from service personnel
Transcription by Kate Atkinson – Transcribing conversations between British Nazi sympathisers and an MI5 agent posing as a German spy
Ike and Kay by James MacManus – Acting as aide and driver to General Ike Eisenhower
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Simon Mawer – Performing undercover missions in wartime France
The Girl from Bletchley Park by Kathleen McGurl – Codebreaking at Bletchley Park
A Sunlit Weapon by Jacqueline Winspear – Ferrying planes between airfields as a member of the Air Transport Auxilliary
To All the Living by Monica Felton – Working in a munitions factory 
Julia Sleeps by Zoe Caryl – Entertaining troops overseas as a member of ENSA
Green Hands by Barbara Whitton – Working on a Northumberland dairy farm as part of the Women’s Land Army
Shelter by Sarah Franklin – Being a ‘lumberjill’ in the Women’s Timber Corps
The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn – Sniper in the Russian army