Winter weeding and landscaping

I couldn’t leave that ugly shot on the website for long. It really isn’t in keeping with my other lovely parts of the garden. So this morning, after the sun had melted the frosty ground I went at this bank again.

More satisfying yanking of nettle roots – I filled two wheelbarrows with the mess – and then hauling of soil.

I was doing two jobs at once this morning.  Removing weeds and stones from the bank; and building up the edge of the bank beside the road.

I did about 15 buckets of soil before my back said, ‘enough’ and I went and fetched the grass seed and rake.

It’s madness to sow grass seeds now. The temperature is set to drop to minus 6C this week. But I felt that once this job is done I can forget all about it until March.  If the seeds germinate then great.  And if I need to do it again, it won’t take too long.

I blame the sunny weather. It was just full of the promise of spring.   I have so many areas that need grass seed work, so it did feel great to be making a start on the long, long list.

I haven’t decided what to do with this bank now that I have removed the nettles and brambles. Well, let’s be honest, lots of the nettles and brambles. There are bound to be zillions springing up next month.

So I could take a risk and leave it bare. And weed as I go past each time. Or fling grass seeds and let the grass do a lot of the work.

Were I really, really keen I would race out and buy thirty rosemary plants, or forty lavenders and do a proper landscaping job.  But I’m not ready. I haven’t really pondered this site long enough.  And I just don’t know how mad the growth is on the slope above where the nettles and brambles grow unchecked.  I will have to be able to get up there to strim and cut back the rampant growth.

So. Aching back. But happy to have conqured another mucky part of the farm.