Wheels within wheels

I think I may just have had an idea to finish off the gate quadrants between the wall and the gate posts.  If we could fix 3 pairs of lovely old cast iron wheels - courtesy of Chris and Maureen in matched pairs, it would be the perfect solution.  Better see what our esteemed builder has to say on the subject!!

Pond Work

New home to the 7 Dogwoods

Spring weather means doing much needed tidying up around and in the pond.  Dead heading, weeding, pump maintenance and margin reshaping and planting.  The remaining 7 Dogwoods (Cornus Sanguinea) from the old greenhouse path - that didn't make the Aspen Grove have moved to the foot of the pond and the steep grassy bank has been reduced - it always was tricky to mow!  All that remains is some re-building of the stone work at the head of the pond and to re-site the pump, tubing and cables and to try to scoop out some of the leaf debris at the bottom.  Hopefully we won't disturb the King Cups which are ready to bloom and looking at their very best.

It's looking a lot like spring!!

It really is!  The snowdrops have all faded and the spring flowers are popping up all over the place.  In the woodland border the Hellebores and Pulmonarias are looking really colourful as are the Primulas and Croci.   Even the Symphytums are budding up and the day glow acid green of the Euphorbia's adds another dimension to spring colour.  Today was a plant acquisition day and we came home with Celandines ( Brazen Hussy) more Pulmonarias and Wood Anemones - both wild and hybrids.  I know Celandines can be a nuisance and that. once planted, I'll never be rid of them but I love 'em! 

Lawn mowing has commenced which has meant miles of edging and mowing until the end of next autumn which seems a very long way away right now.  I wonder how many miles I'll have walked behind a lawn mower by then!

In the greenhouse we've had good germination rate with purple sprouting, leeks, Greyhound cabbages and various herbs. The exception is the Alyssum Saxatile.  Out of an entire pack of Sutton's seeds only about 4 germinated.  For the very first time, I've also lost some chitting Arran Pilots to rot.  Never ever been known before.  Why exactly do rotting potatoes smell quite so AWFUL?

Hardly Thomas Chippendale!

Recycled oak throne 

The odd rainy Saturday in the garden at PTC never means idle hands!  This particular rainy Saturday meant the production of a very rustic chair made from recycled oak fence posts and rails.  Not quite the driftwood effect but, not a millions miles away. Meanwhile; Pugh's Pew has moved down to the Aspen Grove to make room for Thompson's Throne?

Comments from the the Coop

Lulu - too cold for 2 feet!

Despite the recent cold snap and the loss of Amelia a couple of weeks ago; egg production has been eggsellent (sorry!) all winter long and sales have boomed - well relatively speaking!  The flock is now reduced to 4 and only Black Betty remains as one of our original girls.  Even so, frequently we are finding 4 eggs daily.  Given the short days and low light levels, we reckon that's pretty good.

Of course our girls are very spoilt. On the breakfast menu is warm mash with a sprinkling of mealworms and generous handfuls of mixed corn.  They also have a block of mixed grain and molasses suspended above their outdoor perch to peck at all day as well as layers pellets in their hopper.  Surplus greenery from local farm shops and bruised apples are always demolished with great relish.  Grit and oyster shell along with fresh water are always on hand and each morning their day old Daily Telegraph is delivered and spread on the floor of their house.  All droppings are wrapped up and composted.

Funny how very satisfying it is to find a pile of perfectly aimed fresh hen's droppings on the smug face of some idiot politician/celeb!  A good start to any day.

All round Poultry Paradise you might say.

Drive Widening & Hedge Narrowing

The original wide hedge

Digging out the roots and stumps

We had been giving much thought to the old drive hedge which consisted of ever browning Leylandii and much neglected Hawthorn.  We noted the extent of die back in the Leylandii and we looked at its vast width.  Mrs. Carwood from whom we buy our hedging plants has decided to retire at the end of this season and so we had to make our decision fast.  We weighed up the pros and cons.  So late in the season meant that any decision to buy bare rooted hedging plants had to be made fast.  It was now or never.  We couldn't contemplate buying from elsewhere.  The other considerations were soil levels and the ditch on the far side.  We would definitely need some form of retention for the higher soil level and with all that's going on - what would we use and how long would it take?  Chris builder came up with the solution: residual stone (from our day's quarrying) used on its side.  Did we have enough left over?  He thought so.

So it was all go!  Chris set to work with a chainsaw and then a digger. He had the digger for 3 days and even dug out the ditch.  His bonfire burnt for 4 days.  When all the digger work was finished, we spent a day putting up the new posts and rails with rabbit wire and when that was done both Chris's spent a day building the stone retaining wall, finishing off the rails and levelling the soil.

The 2 Chris's building the stone retaining wall

A trip to Mrs. Carwood's on Saturday to pick up the new Laurels - all wonderfully healthy plants with well established root systems kept moist in bin liners, kept Chris and I busy for the rest of the afternoon.  Three Hawthorns (Cratageous laevigata Paul's Scarlet) were also placed along the line of Laurels so, in a year or two's time, we should have a dense evergreen hedge with pretty pink May blossom in spring and - much more room on the drive! 

All finished and 4' of drive gained by the garage

More Herb Garden Progress

A milder afternoon meant that the new Herb Garden could be cleaned out, the borders filled with soil and - yes!  Planted! We now have (Scilly) mint, Oreganos, Parsley, Fennels, Lavenders, Sages, Rosemary, Marjorams - nearly of which I had already.  As the water feature remains unfinished, a bowl of Primulas temporarily adorn the top!  Still to do - paint the stone star burst with brick acid to remove mortar (which will define it much more) replace the oak strips in Chris's absolutely splendid cast iron seat and erect fencing on top of the wall and metal trellis by the verandah.  Hopefully this will give it a more enclosed feel.  Undecided - what to do in the 2 quadrants either side of the Draycott gate and also on top of the brick piers which, for now, have Androlia shells.  I dare say something will spring to mind.  All sensible suggestions welcome!  When the herbs put on some growth; hopefully, they will tumble over the border edges and soften the whole appearance.

It will be useful having the old oak barrel (top right) so handy for watering.  It will be linked to the down pipe allowing it to collect rain water from the Cedar tiles on the verandah roof. Any excess will drain into the land drains Chris built beneath the stone paving.