2 little May Day jobs

This is to remind me that I did get out there during May Bank holiday. Not for long, but long enough to get a couple of jobs done that have needed doing for a while.

Ferns

1 big pot & 1 small of shuttlecock ferns came with us from the old house. That was now 2 years go.

I kept them in the pots to see if they would cope in their potential new home by the bird table circle - they've done well enough so in they've gone.

Not much movement currently, but they're be sprouting soon

Maple

I've pondered many replacements for the Laburnum & Cherry we removed due to illness the other year. We've split the decision & are picking 1 tree each.

Hubby was quick on the draw & popped in a handkerchief tree (Davidia Involucruata) last year & it's doing very well by the bird bath. Well, these late hail flurries & frosts have done nothing for this years leaves but it'll recover.

I, on the other hand, have vacillated. No surprise there...

I really wanted an Acer Palmatum Heptalobum after seeing an amazing one in Dublin Botanic Gardens. After some online research, I plumped for a 'Sango-kaku' after finding one in a local garden centre. Not, I think, a Heptalobum as such, but the leaves are the lovely star-shape I was after, & the colour range is reds & golds. Should be gorgeous :)

But, my planting spot is down by the hedge on the South East corner. I was concerned the maple would suffer a terrible childhood, planted in ditch & in the shade of the established beech hedge.

So I've changed my mind. I've put the maple in a gap created when we blitzed the East drive border ahead of the fence replacement. It might fight with its crab apple neighbour, but then again it might not - I've seen conflicting predictions on how big it'll get. Should get better light conditions than it would under the hedge at least, although might get a bit of stick from the West winds.

It's so pretty :)
But small (daff in the background for scale)

But this means I've still got a gap where the Cherry was... hmm...

Maybe that forsythia cutting I also took from the old house could go in the hedge gap itself. & maybe a twisty Willow in front of that...?

Border control

Recent storms have seriously worried our tired East fence. Hubby's made some emergency repairs but they're only stop gaps. It needs replacing. Strengthening one's borders is just so on trend in Europe this Winter... *rollseyes*

We'll be delegating the carpentry to our mate. He's not due for a little while, which buys us time to clear away the shrubbery. This is double edged though, as we suspect the mature vegetation is now an integral, structural component of our shabby larch lap boundary.
 

There've been some hasty repairs during the Winter storms

A sword of power

The other year I bought Excalibur - a monster of a hedge trimmer. Time to wield it once more.

We've got 30m to clear so this is no time for subtlety. That goal has helped nip in the bud the usual dithering - no point in spending the whole day finessing the first metre; GET ON WITH IT!

We started with the biggest job - the North East border by the side of the drive. Even if we don't get the full length of the fence cleared, making a dent in this overgrown mass will be a significant step.
 

Before & After

Woohoo! What a difference. Some shape to that border looks great :) The fence, however.... :/

Discoveries

As we hacked through the thicket/border, some interesting things came to light. Now I think about it, I'm sure the TV gardeners have said that pruning is a great opportunity to check the general health & well being of your plants...

 

Disease

Bracket fungus on the broken bottle brush branch

In the depths of the bottle brush thingy there was a lot of dead wood. Not only dead but mushroomy. Looks like a large branch has broken near the base, & some time ago too. All of that has to come out, in case the fungus stresses the living bits.

New plants

Surprise! More plants!

Initially I thought "Wow, up to the yellow conifer all ready!" But when I stepped back, I realised I had unearthed a similar, separate, shorter conifer. Right. Just what this place needs...

Hard against the fence there was something else, but completely different. A clump of arrow straight, bright mid green stems. No idea what it is - it's bambooesque, but the leaves are wrong. I've cut it back to the ground & we'll see if it regenerates.

Litter

On the house side of the big yellow conifer I found the only litter stash of the day. I'm amazed there wasn't more. I used to find all sorts of treasure in the old hedge... but then that was a border with public land, so I've clearly not thought this through. Anyhoo...
 

Roof tiles, succulents &...

...a duck's head. Obvs.

Given the rather random mix of items, my best guess is they were dumped as the previous owners were clearing out... Who knows...

Team work & fitness

I can plan, but I'm also prone to getting caught up in the moment. If I've been putting a job off for a while, when I finally commit to doing it I tend to charge in headlong. But my energy is not boundless. When out walking, Hubby & I use a "percentage knackered" scale - if we're getting toward 50% knackered, it's time to head back. We had to instigate this cos I can be more stubborn than my body is able to cope with. Mind over matter is great in theory, but when the matter conks out, it takes the idiot mind down with it...

So, I would've done this job alone, bagging up the trimmings as I went. But hurrah! Hubby mucked in & tidied as I hacked.

1st load of several

And a bag of kindling for the fire

With the two of us on the case, we got the bulk of it done - all the way up the drive to the house.

There's a few bits left - at the side of the house & then by the South Lawn, but these will be a doddle as the borders are smaller & the plants less massive.

How heavy is heavy?

When I bought Excalibur, the reviews were divided: "Too heavy!" said a few. "Absolute pish" others replied. Of course, how heavy something feels to you depends on how strong you are & how long you're holding the damn thing for...

Excalibur is quite heavy for me, but has been fine as long as I take regular breaks to let my arms recover. During one such break in this job I realised my left hand was losing the ability to grip my drink - a sign of my forearm muscles getting a caning I think. Excalibur is a 2-handed sword, so my left arm was getting way more exercise than it's used to.

By the time we'd bagged up the last of the day's trimmings, I was proper goosed; a good 70% knackered. Fortunately the sofa wasn't very far away, so I adjourned there... for the rest of the weekend. Come Monday I was still pretty achy, & then on Tuesday my right groin gave out down the skate park - definitely not a place to be nursing flaky muscles.

Rather than attack jobs like the Tazmanian Devil, I wonder if I can get into the habit of 'little & often'...? Probably not.

A few weeks later...

Panels? What panels?

Another storm came in. Yep, those plants definitely were protecting the fence from the worst of the weather. Oops.

Ah well, less demolition required when the fencing folk arrive.

Update

New fence is in!

Looking golden in the evening sun

The fencers were super speedy & the new boundary was up in 2 days. Rather than panels between the posts, we've gone for individual boards, so we can smoothly follow the curves of the slopes.

Hedgehog hole all part of the service.

Much better, & the neighbours are happy too.

Who are you? July flowers

I'm glad to say it's been too hot to do anything serious in the garden. The only activity has been a mow of the lawns & deadheading the roses. The rest of the time has been spent gazing at the view going "Is all this really ours now...?"

Here's who we've been admiring this month.
If you know who they are, please shout up:

These guys started growing vigorously in the Spring, alongside the comfrey,
but they are only just coming into flower now & the comfrey is long gone.

This Buddleia is just by the back door.
It's put on a couple of foot in the last month alone -
the pic bottom right is from the bedroom window,
it coming to say hello, peeking over the edge of the flat roof...

This was also very vigorous in Spring,
the purple on the stems & leaves is very striking.
It flopped a bit since it flowered.

A lovely tall nectarine-coloured rose,
very much like the one at the old house,
but this doesn't seem to be as healthy.

This big purple bottle brush bush is adored by the bees.
A lovely sight to come home to, on the edge of the drive.
Update from Ruth: "I think the purple bottle brush is a hebe."
Indeed... but which one? Could it be Midsummer Beauty?

This little pea-type thing is everywhere,
leaning up against anything nearby...
a bit like the too-drunk woman in the moshpit.

It's very busy down in Compost Corner, so it was a lovely
surprise to find these huge purple blooms lurking in the shade

Not sure if this deliberate planting or an interloper -
 seen some down the woods when out running this week..
Looks like an ornamental nettle.

Huge white poppy. 4 flowers off 1 stem.
Struggled a bit under its own weight.
Now showing 4 huge seed pods.

This large rose is underneath the Laburnum.
The flowers have a lovely scent.

Sorry for fuzzy pics - this rose is really tall
& on the edge of Compost Corner, so I couldn't get close.
Starts as in this crisp shape & then gets blousier as the bloom matures.

The shadiest corner of the North Lawn is showing some life:
A Buddleia & a rather nice conifer.

In amongst the mayhem, some fruit - hooray.
The rasps are hanging on in there Fence Bed,
& the blackcurrant was a complete surprise find amongst
the anarchy that is the West Boundary Bed

This shrub is at the top of the Drive Bed & has exploded in flower.
That bee shortage? They're all here...

We had Crocosmia at the old house, but nothing like this.
It's spectacular. So red that my camera just can't cope.
It's totally gorgeous, standing sentinel at the top of the North Lawn.
Update from Lulu: "That really red crocosmia looks like the variety
called Lucifer,  we have seen it growing wild today in hedgerows
all around the gower peninsula"
Mwhahahahaha!!!

This heather is right next to my parking spot.
Is it me or do the flower bells look like
bright pink pantaloons with black lace trim...?
Yeah, it's just me ;p

Life is sweet :)

What's flowering this week?

You blink round here, & something else flowers. Here's who's flouncing about right now.

Can anyone fill any of the blank name tags?

Smoke bush - identified by Kay when I spotted one at her house

Dunno what this is, but there's lots of it.
Love how the rain beads on the leaves.
Update from Roger: "Alchemilla mollis. Beautiful if a bit of a brute!"
Also known as Lady's Mantle.



We've several similar geraniums.
This lovely clump is at the foot of the South Lawn Cherry Tree.

Not a clue about this one but I see it about a lot.
A municipal planting favourite in our Drive Bed.

Another flowering shrub in the Drive Bed.
They're cheek-by-jowl in there.
Update from Bryony: "escallonia I think"
Certainly looking likely from interweb photos & descriptions.

There's 2 big clumps of this in the West Boundary Bed.
TBH it's probs a single plant attempting to swallow a third.

We currently have the most glamorous, most fragrant compost corner.
The rambling/climbing rose went boom!
Update from Kate: "Rambling rector?"
Looking very likely, & how fitting given that Hubby is a Reverend...
I may start referring to him as such here...

We brought these guys with us.
Still no idea what they are.
Update from Roger: "Some kind of veronica"
But searching Google pics I'm not so sure
(even after eliminating all the pics of ladies in their pants.)

Not flowering, but looking wonderfully fluffy in its new growth.
One of several conifers at the top of the North Lawn. 

A flush of buttercups, before I chopped their heads off yesterday.

No idea which leaves go with these flowers.
It's all a bit hectic behind the bench down at the Circle.

Our lovely friends gave us loads of plants as housewarming gifts.
Sarge's cactus bloomed!
Update from me (cos I read the label): Opuntia indica - prickly pear!