The green and rolling countryside of Worcestershire, England, is home to the cider apple orchards which surround the gardens of Pear Tree Cottage. They enjoy a sunny south westerly aspect with sweeping views across to Martley Hillside, Woodbury and Abberley clock tower. The Teme Valley lies just over the hill and, not far away, is the Herefordshire border. Although our climate is temperate, our seasons are often uncertain and always a challenge to a gardener! This began in 2010 & follows the weekly ups and downs of garden work chronicling both successes and failures but, above all, demonstrates the fun enjoyed by three people who regularly garden in all weathers

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1 July 2018

Fishy Business

Following a few pond problems resulting in the acquisition of a new pond pump back in May, Head Gardener and Chief Blogger failed to mention a sudden increase in pond life! A friend of Chris Genever's was seeking a new home for his fish. No one had accurate figures when it came to numbers of fish and I was only too happy to help out. Up until then we had only native fish in our pond - a few Rudd and a single Golden Tench. It came as a bit of a surprise when 7 buckets full to their brims with fish arrived! They took 3 or 4 days to settle in as to begin with, they kept throwing themselves out on to the pebbles. The entire surface was boiling with orange and white fish! A week later and all was calm and they all settled down.

In the intervening period, we have lost a total of 4 with a further 5 going to live in a much bigger pond at Paul's. The water appeared much muddier for a couple of weeks. The culprits were a pair of wild duck and we have found ourselves having to clean out the filter far more frequently which is a complete pain of a job due to its location - but, for now at least, things seem to have settled down. Fingers crossed!!


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