Garden update. Failures and successes

The garden now takes up most of my free time - sowing, planting, weeding, weeding and more weeding; first harvests and a bit of landscaping at the same time. I absolutely love my little paradise. It's far from perfect with its broken fence (hopefully getting replaced this summer), its clay soil, cold climate and lots of slug and mice visitors. But it's mine, and to me it's the most beautiful little garden on earth. 

Being in Scotland, everything seems to grow slower or start later than in the more southern parts of the country. I have seen photos of other people's gorgeous red radishes, mini green tomatoes and apples or even first ripe strawberries, while mines are only just starting to flower. The only crops I've been able to harvest so far in moderate quantities are lettuce and rocket. As a new gardener, this can be a bit discouraging, but I keep reminding myself that all I can do is make the best of what I've got. And the climate is something I definitely can't change! 

I am worried I might have problems with my garlic and onions due to the wet winter we had. I wouldn't be surprised to see some white rot. I've had a number of other failures, including:

- Nasturtiums - apparently they're supposed to self-sow and grow like crazy, but none of the seeds I planted has germinated.

- Pear tree - it's the second half of May and it doesn't have a single leaf on it. I think it's safe to assume it's dead.

- Violas - zero germination

- Comfrey - zero germination

- Mint - 3 plants bought and planted last autumn - only one has ''survived'' if you can call it that. The green growth on it is one single leaf the size of my smallest fingernail.

But other things seem to be doing well (if a bit slow) and I've already seen tiny red & white currants, miniature gooseberries, and courgettes the size of my finger. There's lots of blossom on my strawberries and one of my apple trees; the potatoes look very happy and the broad beans are growing fast - hope to see their flowers soon.

All in all, it's a very exciting time for a gardener!