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 :)

New house! New garden!

I've been stressing again. Moving house is stressful - we all know that. But I've been topping that stress with a whole bunch of blog guilt. It's a special talent.


But today that ends. I am reminding myself of my 'Post it!' resolution from the blog's First Birthday round-up. I will, as my friend Clair would say, rip it off like a plaster.

So what's the new place like?!

Vast!


Not quite Capability Brown-worthy, but our old back garden would fit into the new one several times over. It took hubby TWO HOURS just to mow The North Lawn. & yes, that means we now have more than 1 lawn - there's a smaller South one too.


I'll get around doing a map & some panoramas & stuff, but in the meantime, here's a few nice pics of some of the plants that came with the place. I freely admit I've no idea what half of the resident greenery is, so I think a horticultural soirée might be helpful - an evening of cake, cava & can-you-tell-me-what-this-is-please?

The new growth on this shrub is much more red than the pink in this pic.
Update from Sharon: "Pieris 'forest flame'"

It's a fairy grotto under one corner of the Big Beech Hedge.
These guys remind me of kodama.



The Cherry Tree on the South Lawn.

Snake's Head Fritillaries! We've always wanted some of these! *dribble*

One of the many large grassy clumps. This one is in the Shed Bed.
Update from Sharon: "Carex pendula"
The wiki page says "preferring damp, heavy clay soils"... sounds about right ;)

We had no idea what the large old tree in the middle of the South Lawn was...
until it flowered. Laburnum it is then.

They've got these in the Farmshop carpark beds & I've always admired them.
We've not got as much as them - only this small clump at the top of the North Lawn.
But it's a start.
Update from Steph & Clare: "Perennial Cornflower".

We brought our own, but there are a lot of ferns here already.
I'm amazed to see Hostas tho' - new place has an abundance of snails AND slugs.

One of the other grassy clumps turned out to be this gorgeous Iris.
This was in the Fence Bed, but there's another clump over in the Birch Bed.