The final ornamental grasses cut back
Have secateurs will travel.
My, I have been busy.
We are in the throws of the most absurdly sunny warm weather this weekend. It might be winter in the calendar, but I was wearing a think cotton shirt and a very wide brimmed hat these past two days. Fleeces were shed all over the farm.
And I had the most perfect job to keep me out in the glorious sunshine and warmth.
Grasses. The last of the eragrostis curvula grasses have had their annual haircut and are now ready to burst into growth.
I kept them quite high as I found so many overwintering ladybirds in among the grasses. So it was a high hack.
I started on the orchard bank.
That took a day and a half.
And then just to mix up the thrill of the tedious job of cutting back grasses, I moved on to the oak bank.
The hardest thing is avoiding the annual weeds that are sneaking up on the banks. You have to be single minded and just go at the grass. If I have time I will go back and weed.
Once the oak bank was tamed, I staggered down to the last area I have planted – the duck pond terrace.
All my pictures of this area were rubbish. So you are going to have to imagine the before and after shots of this.
I was racing against the light – determined to have the job done by the end of play.
The secateurs will now get a thorough sharpen, a clean and a spray of WD40 on the hinges. Great little tool. A mighty device.
I have some dozen lavenders to cut back tomorrow, and the nepeta. And then the secateurs might have a rest while I lift and divide irises, shift all the cut-down grass material and pile it up in the potager.
My potager is such an eyesore I can’t even give you a glimpse> It would make you wince.
23rd February 2020 @ 9:45 pm
Bravo! Those grasses will now leap out of the blocks if they know what’s good for them.
Technical question on irises as I have an abundance in need of divvying up. If you move them now would you expect flowers this year or to have to wait until Spring 2021?
23rd February 2020 @ 9:49 pm
Ah, but what I failed to tell you was that I just pulled a tick out of my hair. Arrrrgggh. It’s only February. Luckily it didn’t attach.
Irises moving is a lottery at this time of year. They might be shy to flower. But it’s such a logical time to move them. They are on my list for tomorrow. I think you should just go for it. After all, if they are crowded they are not going to flower well anyway. Maybe keep the main one in situ and divvy up the rest.
27th February 2020 @ 7:52 am
The February tick count here is one (tiny) attached, one (big) deambulating in my hair. Curse this mild winter!
Thoughts of iris moving will have to be put on hold due to torrential rain. Not the time to be delving into sticky clay for any reason.
27th February 2020 @ 8:06 am
Ugh. Tick horror is so visceral. Thank goodness we both have thick thatches on our heads. And nit combs for the double check! But really. I fear for you going into your woods!