Jungle bunny

For once I was able to see what Artur could see. A jungle. Here we are contemplating the growth of the red clover and potatoes up at the top vegetable garden.

My afternoon task was to hack back this rather unhelpful ground cover / weed suppressant / green manure and find the potatoes again.

Actually, as a nitrogen fixer, the clover couldn’t be better, but the rainfall of the past few months means that it rather grew out of control.

And I took my eye off it.   But I have caught most of it before it has had a chance to flower. And I even did it rather quickly, despite the interference from said cat.

He kept wanting me to scratch under his chin, when I needed both hands to weed.   But I gave in (of course) until he tired of the rather tall jungle plants and went and snoozed in the weeded asparagus bed.

The sun came out and it was a pleasant and peaceful task.

And with luck the potatoes will get more of a chance to grow now they aren’t shaded.   I should earth these spuds up tomorrow, if I have the time.

And I really ought to cut the clover growing closest to the raspberries. But it’s so prickly when you are at knee height, even though it is tasty work. We have  a bumper crop of raspberries right now. Too many for us to keep up.

My morning began the way it has the past three days. Donning harness and strimming. Luckily today was just a tidy day of edges and easy flat bits of bank.

Well, I did do the back steps up behind the pool, but the rest was easy peasy: the edge of the hedge, the base of the rock walls near the house, the bank below the lavender.

I didn’t do the duck pond. Mainly because I plum forgot. I was working my way up the steps and didn’t think to turn around and go back down and tackle the thigh high weeds behind the duck pond.   I could say ‘tomorrow’. But I’m all strimmed out.

Besides, it’s market day in our local town tomorrow morning, and it always takes much longer than I plan.   And with a good weather forecast, I find I can’t strim when the heat is on.

My other big promise to myself (apart from jungle taming at the vegetable garden) was to plant.   I have to empty the potting shed of plants.

So out came tomatoes, basil, calendula, oriental cabbages, perpetual spinach, another nasturtium, a contoneaster and even a berberis that I found stacked in the holding pen that is outside the shed. More tomorrow afternoon.

In fact I really ought to lock myself in tomorrow and pot up and pot on and plant out every single plant in there. We will be away for another week in London and I do tire of the plodding with plants into the calabert for a bit of shade.

All this rain has been perfect for the nasturtiums in the planters. I love this cherry rose jewel. And if you look carefully you can see my constant companion wanting to play.