A meadow, tamed

It has taken years but we are almost there.  Meadows on the lower terraces.

Well, meadows on two and a half terraces. Two and a half are so infested with verbascum plants that I’ll have to mow and strim those again this year.

The brambles are (just) under control. But oh, those verbascums.

It’s perfect timing; the renegade flowers were just unfurling and starting to sprout.

Out they came. And we dug and hacked at the rest.  And coughed and hacked as well.

It’s such a shame that one wildflower can be so invasive when the rest is such a joy.  But we’re getting there. A small part of me admires the ability of this plant to self sow so successfully.  But I wish they didn’t do it on our farm.

When we first came there was an infestation that had to be waded through and wheezed and sneezed at.  And couldn’t be hacked down with anything less than loppers. Or a steel blade on the strimmer. 

Thank goodness those bad days are behind us.

I didn’t start the day with such a painful task however; it was watering, my favourite task.

I wanted to give all the new shrubs and trees a good drenching. There is plenty of water coming out of the mountain right now. The souce has two overflow pipes and both are belching out water.

So a happy two hours later, all the trees and shrubs and the potage had their drink.

I love the new oaks up on the bank above the courtyard. They are an electric green. Such a fantastic contrast to the meadow plants around them.

And I couldn’t resist this action shot of Artur leg surfing.  He creeps up behind me when I’m kneeling down (weeding) and climbs onto my legs – and takes command of my calf muscles.

He is so happy there, purring like mad, that I feel awful shifting him. So we tend to get stuck in this position for a bit.  The plants get very well watered and weeded.

We had an action packed day; despite Artur’s demands for attention.  Dead branches cut down from the apple tree, the oak tree, a chestnut, a black cherry tree and two wild cherry trees down on the side of the road. It’s wonderfully satisfying to see the dead bits down and heading for the chipper pile.

And speaking of satisfying; here is the white wisteria this year.

It had a rather brutal haircut this winter, but came through, rather curtailed, but it seems to be thriving.

I’m preparing my list for the morrow. And I fear it will be strimming. Weather permitting.