Thicketing

Day one of the first day back: and the biggest question of all was where to start.   I am slightly dismayed by how much needs to be sorted: every area has either brambles, weeds or gaps where I have to put in seedlings or plants.

So in that perfect gardener’s way, I avoided it all and uncurled the hose.   Watering seemed wise. If I am to follow the Filippi method, then the shrubs in the garden needed their twice a month drenching.   So I had a gentle and enjoyable early morning of giving every parched plant a good long drink.

But having leapt out of bed at 6am, I was flagging by morning tea.

Still, the garden was watered, some minor weeding achieved, and I set the plumber in the right direction of the radiator that needed moving.   And I found a few black cherries within reach on one of my plods.

But it’s always the way, you can’t water without seeing something that needs doing first. So with one had on the hose, the other seemed to be cutting back the nepeta on the path in the shade garden, the worst of the weeds pulled out in between the lavender and cistus and valerian.

And Artur had to have his attention too.   The cat has forgiven me. But he did stalk about a bit and want cuddles just when I was wielding secateurs and brambles, bent over in the strawberry bed.

The army of workers retreated at noon, and I rashly decided that the sight of the lawns was too much to contemplate.   They are a combination of parched grass, weeds and wildflowers.  Â  Some of them thigh high and not the right sort.

Out came the mower, on went the extra sunscreen, ear protectors and cap, and off I went. The main lawn was a doddle. Until I tried to mow around the apple tree at the far left side of the lawn.   I unhooked the cage that protects it from the deer. And realised that there was another predator more successfully at work.   Small caterpillers have invaded.  

I spent a queasy half hour squishing and removing bits of leaves, accumulated droppings and nests.   Not fun.   But at least I was able to give it the proper attention it deserved.   It will need more care next year. I can only see one fruit on the entire tree and feel guilty for the neglect.

But now it is properly watered and mulched and it should make mowing easier.   And I mowed in between the miscanthus grasses that line the edge of the lawn.   You can spot the underground spring near here. The grasses are positively purring with happiness while plants just a few feet away are gasping.

Down on the proper orchard I went caterpiller hinting as well. A few infected leaves on one of the   apple trees   (green fingers from the squishing) but luckily there is much more fruit.   I mowed and mowed and added all the grass cuttings around each tree as an extra mulch.   And admired my mighty thicket of vipers bugloss.   That’s a mighty wildflower and one I will tolerate. It colonises like mad, but at least it’s a fetching colour. And you can’t beat it’s absurd name.

Naturally it looks great in contrast to the thistle flowers.   But that didn’t last long. My mighty gaunlet deadheaded them rather swiftly.

And then in a seamless dance of gardener and machine, it was up the track, up to the lawn area we call the piano, weeds trimmed, lawn looking gorgeous.   This part of the garden gets more shade from the huge birch tree that stands sentinel at the end of the swimming pool, and as a consequence, if you squinted, the lawn underneath looks almost lush.   A most pleasing afternoon of exercise.

I even ventured slightly into the duck pond area. It really needs a strim rather than a mow, but this weather is much too hot for that sort of work.   So I did as much as I could with the mower, and then retreated back to the stables to park the machine and get on with more food orientated tasks.

Raspberries! In May.   This season really is advanced. Last year we seemed about three weeks late, and this year it’s a few weeks early. I would have to look up my notes to see just when I was eating raspberries, but that would take too much time. And I am flagging fast.

But the bushes are full of fruit and I brought down about a kilogram, and felt as though I ate a similar amount.   I must remember to freeze a batch tonight. There is no way I’ll have time to make raspberry cordial tomorrow.