Radical Tree Changes!

Columns moved/

Deciding which needs moving first!

What with arms in slings and Christmas trips away, Head Gardener has not been as busy as usual!  The incessant rain has also had a big effect as it's been far too wet for any border work.

However.............today was like our usual Saturday.  Chris swapped his day and there was some alien body shining yellow up in the sky!!  Time for our long awaited tree planting!!  Followers may recall that we removed all the Aspens from the Aspen Grove and all their 100's of suckers in readiness for  'The Big Change.'  Firstly Chris moved a Ash bench then 2 of the stone columns  we moved.  Doesn't sound like much of a  job except, they are immensely heavy and each has 3 sections, the bottom sections being surrounded by a huge lumps of concrete.  Having placed and repositioned them, they had to be dug in and the soil compacted around them.  The seat (which also weighs a ton and a half!) was moved to the top of the border and angled to face west and the view across the pond.  In order for it to fit its new postion, its size was reduced with a chainsaw - radical remodelling!  Time to cut back the Senecio around Cynthia (the statue). 

Weighing things up!

All this took ages and we kept looking at the time and realising that not a single tree had been planted.  More ivy was cleared and that together with the trimmed Senecio meant we had more room for manoevre and more choices for our trees.  Eventually, we settled on positions and, after planting them, we moved a Holly Lolly to the corner of the Pear Hut and a Magnolia to the top of the border.  I should perhaps say that the birches are all multi stemmed Betula Jaquemontii Snow Queens.  A dazzling variety that goes silver withinn 2 - 3 years.

If only we'd decided on Birches originally!