Invader in the Woodland Border

The mystery invasion!

Thank goodness for cooler cloudier weather which enabled work to commence in the Woodland Border.  My favourite border has been invaded by a mystery weed. I say mystery - thankfully it has now been identified by Steve (who gets a gold star award for weed identification) as Enchanters Nightshade (Circaea lutetiana) - a spreading and native woodland plant.  We don't mind native but spreading?  That's an understatement if ever I read one!  Thankfully its roots are fairly shallow and it it's not unattractive.  The trouble is with a garden group due to visit on Thursday evening, I can hardly remove the lot leaving a bare border!  Accordingly, we confined our work to the back of the border, brashing the Birches to emphasise their stature, removing dead Elderflower, Elms and brambles from the back and re-siting Chris's mushrooms.  There are thoughts that a seat beneath the Birches with a small winding path leading in might be a possibility - watch this space!  

As usual - it looks as if the photographer is skiving!

Having sorted out this border, and while the Under Gardener was having a bonfire; we then moved on to the Aspen Grove and brashed (isn't that a lovely word?) the Aspens ensuring their main trunks don't have lateral branches too low down.  It's something I've always done without knowing that there was a 'forestry' verb for if.  We cut down the avenue of Alchemilla Mollis leading to Pugh's Pew, strimmed and mowed the dead Mood Daisies and then planted out the home grown Cosmos - having cut down the hardy geraniums beneath the roses and given their border a general tidy up.  6:40pm and time for a quick blow round, clear up, put the tools away and .....................................

 

The view for the sundowners!

 

  

  ..........................  that much deserved sundowner!

Our very own fire breathing dragon

Another day of relentless hot sun is followed by another pretty sunset

Scorchio!

....and some people complain about seagulls!

We have a pigeon in the garden.  Not any pigeon.  This pigeon.  It is the fattest, most stupid, cheeky, brazen and lazy bird in the entire universe!  It took me ages to scare it enough into flying for this weird shot and then it just landed again nearby - glaring at me with serious attitude.  It spends every day eating and copulating (mostly in the Wisteria) - noisily!

Making hay whilst ..............

The sunny weather is not all bad news.  Our hay dried perfectly and is now all gathered in and stored.  I tidied up our mini meadow with my new (baby) John Deere and am very pleased with it.  I don't think I confessed the world's most expensive mistake on this blog.  Last year I bought a Stiga ride-on with a front cutting deck.  Yes!  Of course I tested it.  I cut a whole orchard using a friend's machine in Sweden.  The 2 machines were identical in every way.  How on earth was I to know that it couldn't travel uphill on our gradient??? A 4 wheel drive version would have been another £1000.00 - gulp! Anyway to cut a long (and expensive) story short; Jake at Power Equipment Services in Kidderminster (http://www.powerequip-ltd.co.uk/) came up trumps again and sold it (eventually) and JD is it's replacement.  This is the (very tidy) result:

'All is safely gathered in'

Meanwhile..................

Another scorching day and the grass is getting browner and browner and............well, look! 

One very brown lawn!

 Is this what a brown field site looks like?  I have wondered.  Luckily, we set up water collection points from various rooves.  It's collected from the greenhouse roof and fills the galvanised tank inside and a (nasty looking) plastic one outside.  We also collect it off the barn roof and store it in a (nice looking!) old oak barrel.  When it comes to a quick dip with a watering can, these systems are pretty handy.  A strategically placed oscillating sprinkler on the veg patch means that excess water lands on the greenhouse roof and is recycled immediately!  Water from the well is used for topping up the pond as the evaporation rate speeds up in this weather.  The grass has to fend for itself and, as grass always does, will recover in time.  Watering is reserved for vegetables, pots and deserving plants and shrubs.

Life is a bowl of...............

CHERRIES!!  Slurp!

PTC cherries - variety unknown

This year we decided that the blackbirds have had more than their fair share of cherries and so decided to net our little tree of dessert cherries. The blackbirds beat us to it last year and scoffed the lot. They have had to content themselves feasting on the wild cherries in Mrs Carwood's tree which was absolutely laden this year.  Notice I said 'was'.  They have stripped it bare and wolfed every single one and there were thousands!  They are now eating the berries on the Daphne Mezereum.  Amazing how their systems can cope with something that toxic!  Anyway, it was our turn to have our very own fruit feast.  They were deliciously sweet and juicy with the tangiest cherry flavour.  Why can't I remember what variety they are? It was a tree Al brought home home from Costco and was planted 3 years ago.  

Turn down the heat!

Another day of relentless hot sun is followed by another pretty sunset

Scorchio