The hall was ablaze with colour and charm, such wonderful exhibits of excellence in needlework. Mumma Bunny has done herself proud, such a beautiful array of dolls.

They are all exquisitely put together with lovely detailed faces and the stunning  dresses are made of fine cottons and antique lace. Each doll wears delicate vintage lace pantaloons and pettiecoats above hand painted shoes. There was much ooooohing and aaaaahing amongst the admirers. There were so many dolls that it was very difficult to choose which ones to photograph. Mumma Bunny was inundated with requests to purchase the dolls, but she gently explained that she could not part with any of her dolls as she was very attached to them. Not only that but her four daughters also loved the dollies and would often hold tea parties with them in the garden or have them sit on their beds in amongst the lovely cushions Mumma Bunny also enjoys making. She did relent and offer to take orders and  hold classes for those that wished to learn the art of cloth doll making.

Mumma Bunny was beside herself, so many orders were taken that she declared she didn't know how and when she could fulfill them all. Little Nessa Bunny brought her Mumma a nice cup of tea and a yummy cupcake, and set to writing down the details of the dolls on order thus giving Mumma Bunny a chance to collect herself.       

Actually if the truth be known all the plants in the garden are Mrs Annie's favourites, she just loves them all and from morning till dusk the place to find her is out in the midst of all her treasures. Peter with tool box built a very handsome bird house, and after Mrs Annie decorated it with flowers he positioned it on the balcony at the back of their cottage overlooking the gardens, just in case one of their little feathered friends needed extra accommodation. Springtime is such a hive of activity here and housing gets snapped up very fast indeed. A newly married couple of finches tried to move into a basket of Begonias the other day, Mrs Annie said to Mr Peter "Now that will never do, they must have proper housing to be safe". She is always so concerned for the safety and well being of all the critters living at Hollyhock Hill. The climbing roses are

budding and the new shoots have to be secured against the wind and in a day or two young seedlings will be planted out in the specially prepared beds. There will be  Larkspur, Canterbury Bells, and an all time favourite, the Papaver Poppy, it has such exquisite blooms but Mrs Annie doesn't want that to be broadcast, as some people might get the wrong impression, here they are grown for their beauty alone. Little Primroses have popped up here, there and everywhere after their lovely winter sleep. Love in the Mist and Forget Me Nots are competing for space along pathways and the cheeky Nasturtiums are threatening to take over the vegetable plots.The elegant Cymbidium orchids are starting to show their colours as are the pretty little Violets that were repositioned earlier in the year.

The last of the leeks and celery have been harvested so the vegetable beds will have to be worked over and prepared for spring planting too. Spring is indeed a busy, albeit an enjoyable time for most gardeners.

There has been quite a bit of spring rain already and a strong south wind did some damage, a pretty pink Camellia Japonica full of plump buds was knocked over and the lovely apple green pot it was in was broken, Mrs Annie was rather upset about it. Mr Peter quickly went out and bought her another one in the same colour, she was very touched by his kindness, thanked him with a big kiss and promptly repotted the lovely Camellia. The new pot was even bigger than the broken one and has a lovely embossed pattern on it, very elegant indeed. 

I must say that spring is just about my most favourite time of the year.

Brought to you by Jovi Woofley.