The making of the ghost pine

With massive overcrowding and equally massive root damage to the lawn, we found a solution without losing the tree entirely.  It was hardly a suitable specimen tree for a garden - just a scraggy old pine with long roots coming up through the turf becoming worse each season.  The dying grass and the lawn mower damage to the roots combined with the fact that top branches were growing into the Liriodenrdron Tulipifera tree on one side, an Acer Griseum on the other and an ancient Pear at the back.  Close by also is a Cornus and 2 Magnolias.  The poor scraggy old pine had to go!

Overcrowded planting

Bark removal

Lawn damage

We started off at the top, taking out and lowering branches.  Having cut the ends off the branches shortest at the top we then stripped of the bark and pine being pine; this was the world's stickiest job!  Just how sticky is resinous sap?   It got to the stage that we couldn't put down the heavy tools we picked up but the scent of the pine resin was out of this world!  Anyway, we ended up with this rather ghostly looking pine!  We'll let it dry out and decide what to do next.  It does seem an awfully cruel and slow death for a tree as it slowly loses it life's resinous sap.  Anyway, we get to keep it for a while.

We might spray paint it, we might plant an evergreen up it, we might put fairy lights around it or just hang it with lanterns or even coloured glass wasp traps  - quite a few possibilities!  We know that it won't last forever and that it will  eventually rot.  In the meantime it looks quite unusual when uplit at night - if not a little stark surrounded by greenery by day! 

Naked & dying pine!

 (In case you're wondering, the clematis at the bottom is actually called Mrs Thompson!)

Where have all the flowers gone?

Using the hired power scythe

Well, it was a hiring a power scythe again to cut the meadow grass.  After a major hiccup last week, when the grass just kept jamming in unsharpened blades, HSS came up trumps and delivered another machine.  This time, all was perfect. The air is now  heavy with the delicious scent of newly mown hay as it dries in warm summer sunshine.

The end of the day

Using a much more familiar tool!

Having turned the hay and also turned around, I couldn't resist this shot of far distant evening shadows on a corn field beneath Woodbury Hill!

View from our meadow

Three days of sunshine, a light breeze and much turning meant that the loose hay could be lugged. There were  3 full loads and loading high loads of  loose hay in a trailer without thriples was a bit of a test.  Well at least I didn't lose any of it on the slope!

Mini hay lugging

One mown meadow

There will be more than enough for nest boxes for the girls. Some will make garden kneelers. The bulk will go to Ash and Jan's Texels.  (A little bird said they might be showing at Burwarton next month!!)  At the moment the garage looks more like a hay loft!  No room for Mellings or Randolph.  I figure that the 16 x 8 yard meadow has yielded the equivalent of about 3 small bales.  I wonder what the experts would say?  

Now I have to remember what this little patch looked like back in the spring when it was a mass of Cowslips and Moon Daisies.  Oh well. There's always next year!

One Woman Wants to Mow a Meadow!

I've posted this conundrum on an RHS Forum but if any one out there had any ideas, I'd be only too delighted to hear them!

'With all the hype and encouragement to grow meadows: does anyone have any sensible suggestions regarding mowing a small area of meadow grass in order to make hay?  

In past years I have tried the the following methods: scything (back breaking slow and hazardous - despite having received expert tuition!)  Strimming - useless as the minced grass is thrown everywhere.  Strimming with a brush cutting blade - equally useless!  Inverting a pole hedge-cutter - right action but the cutter bar is dragged into the ground and it proved too difficult to control.  Lastly (and not to be out-done) hiring a power scythe (a modern version of an Allen Scythe)  - it works well but means that I have the world's most expensive hay!  Our ride on mower is, of course, a non- starter for such a job as indeed are the other 2 lawn mowers! 

I did think about buying an old Allen scythe but storing it and maintaining it for 30 minutes use once a year doesn't make sense either! Making hay is SO worth doing just to awake to the smell of it!

You'd think that some one would come up with a garden mower with this capability or am I asking too much???  Are perfect swathes of cut grass too much to ask for in a garden?

PS In case you're wondering why I want the hay at all - it makes perfect garden kneelers when stuffed in an an old potting medium bag tied at the end and it lines the hens' nest boxes!'

Oak Ferns & Old Gates

The Draycott Gate

Having been given a lovely old estate gate (a bit of Draycott House!), means I've now found a use for an old oak gate post!  Both have been placed down  in  'Orchard View' - just in front of the Banana Bench. Chris has promised another old gate post for the latch end of the gate.  Some of his grandfather's old chain adds even more authenticity!  We're looking forward to using the other Draycott treasures so, watch this space!

Oak ferns

We couldn't resist these oak ferns being sold on the side of a tiny narrow lane under the shadow of Hay Bluff.  We didn't get to meet the maker but he lived in the a beautifully painted wonderful old bow top caravan which he towed with a Fordson dexter.  The ferns have been anchored into an old stump with already trailing ivy

The fern maker's home

Summer Evenings at PTC

'Fantastic Mr. Fox'

Japanese Acer

Not quite gardening in the dark but a few shots on a rare warm summer evening! Garden lighting - courtesy of the one and only Dave Melhuish of DSM naturally!  His talents can be viewed at

 http://sparkydsm.blogspot.com/

Elsie comes to live at PTC

Beaks Breakouts & Broody Behaviour!

Lulu & Priscilla

I was going to start by saying that things are getting back to normal in the garden following our super successful Open Gardens Weekend.  However, things have been anything but normal for these two!  First off all, Priscilla became extremely broody and spending all her time in the nest box refusing to eat properly. Her days were spent continuously 'growling' at everything with feathers all fluffed up.  A possible diagnosis of being egg bound had been mooted but we won't make mention of that.  Suffice to say; a very careful medical examination revealed no presence of eggs - bound or otherwise!  After a couple of days in Ollie's dog crate (with no nesting facilities), she's now back to her usual happy self.  

Lulu had other ideas about her absent friend and decided that things weren't right.  A search party was needed and an escape plan was hatched (ahem!) .  First of all she flew between the upper bars on the gate.  After this escape route was obstructed with a panel of weld mesh and with much determination, she then flew right over the top and was found happily scratching around in the raspberry patch completely oblivious to all dangers that lurk nearby.  That left only one course of action.  Out came the kitchen scissors. We reluctantly but very carefully clipped her flight feathers.  The risk of her flying out and straight into the jaws of Monsieur Le Reynard is far too great - especially as he was seen again yesterday afternoon in the orchard - in broad daylight!

So far - so good.  No further escapes.  Of course, now she is reunited with her friend and access to the Hennery is restored, it could be that she no longer has reason to escape.  We'll probably never know why she did it having shown no previous inclinations whatsoever (sigh!)