Summer landscaping project completed

If I close my eyes I see grass roots. Long white spaghetti roots of couch grass and other nasties.  But I am delighted to say that I’m going to call this a result and stop.

I took advantage of the fantastic drenching we had on Sunday – 105mm (over 4 inches) of rain falling in two massive storms.  You can’t see any evidence of the drenching in the garden. Apart from the happy smile on the face of this gardener who knows she doesn’t have to water for a week.

The soil is soft and easy to work. And that meant grabbing my trusty bulldog fork, soft seat and gloves and getting stuck in.  (This is the action shot sciatic pose of weeding.  Sitting and twisting gently, rather than kneeling or bending.)

Artur, most unhelpfully, kept wanting to visit me.

And believe me, when you are teetering on a steep slope with only your core muscles holding you onto the soil, an extra enthusiastic cat is not a welcome addition.

He did a good surfing demonstration once all the soil was raked and readied for planting up.  Trust him to turn up when the hose came out for drenching the planting holes.

He loves his water.

The eragrostis grasses you see in this shot were looted from the track just above.  Some of them had self seeded in the lawn, so I have been letting them grow on, and now are uprooted and plonked into a very alien environment.

As soon as I’m stronger I’ll be collecting branches from the forest and will chip like mad to cover this bare soil.

My last job of the day – apart from snapping shots of decorative dirt.  I wanted to see how much I have achieved.

Out came the measuring twine and I unwound it all the way to the stables.  Here are the stats.  The orchard bank is 28 metres long (91 feet) and I have landscaped 10 (32 feet).  I am a third of the way there!

I call that a result.