Pond Pump Problems

Following unusual and increasingly strange noises from the pond pump and then noticing a lack of power,  Chris G retrieved it from the icy depths and diagnosed bearing troubles.  It went off to Lanes but, with its guarantee expired, a replacement had to be bought (gulp!)  Taking a pump out of a pond and replacing it is not that easy.  I'm not that good when it comes to electricity but I do know that it doesn't mix well with water and I didn't fancy retrieving a load of dead fish floating on the surface!  The fact that I confused the pump with the garden lights and was attempting to convince Chris that it was only low voltage.............as if!!!  His look said it all and in a flash (!) I realised my error.  A heavy duty pond pump couldn't possibly run on low voltage! 

The power cables have to be threaded through underwater pipes and then the hose needs attaching and much of this work takes place in the middle of the pond where the water is deepest balanced on a springy ladder with a very narrow plank! Then there are all the electrical connections and after that all the protective pipes then had to be recovered with pebbles and hidden from view.  Needless to say, he did a perfect job (with nothing dropped in the pond) and the pump is up and running so the fish have oxygenated water again.  Maybe, they won't eat the frog (or toad) spawn or the emerging tadpoles!

New from old

Metal bench frame

Chris replacing the plaque

One Chris rescues some dilapidated garden furniture from certain death and the other Chris helps restore it!!  

Three garden seats originally bought from J & F Hall Ltd, Ironmongers, Worcester had been allowed to lapse into dilapidation.   Apparently the shop closed and was then knocked down back in the '60's.  The original wood was almost completely rotten but the little copper plaque bearing the name of the ironmongers remained and so of course had to be replaced on the new timber!  We removed all the rotten slats and oiled all the metal frames.  We then replaced the old wood with some oak slats.  Chris had already planed all the oak and, after cutting the lengths he chamfered all the edges.  We then reassembled the 3 seats by bolting each slat to the metal frames. I treated the oak to a 50-50 mix of turpentine and linseed oil.  Result - garden seats, better than new!  Genius!!

The original plaque

The finished bench

More action in the Woodland Border

I know this yet another photo of the woodland border but more and more plants are waking up after our wettest of winters and there is so much happening!  Wood Anemones, Pulmonarias, Forget-me-nots and Celandines (this one is Brazen Hussy) are all in flower as well as the Hellebore and Daffodils.  Beneath the silver Birches, the acid green beacons of Woodruff stand out clashing with the purple of the Violets and the pale lemon of the Epimediums.  The Magnolia is opening its flowers above and ivory flowers of the Pieris arch gracefully over the odd white violets. Yet to flower are the Bluebells and the Lilies of the Valley.  Soon the ferns will start unfurling and the leaf canopy above will begin to cast its shade until autumn.  No wonder this is my favourite border.

An old brick path

Just an old brick path on a spring afternoon.  These rescued bricks were laid on sand a few years ago.  This path takes us from the lower lawn, across the lower border and to a secluded covered swing seat with views across Bulmer's orchards to Martley Hillside.  We lowered the hedge here so it feels like a part of orchards.  It's a little bit secretive and hidden from the rest of the garden by Berberis and a big old Witch Hazel.  It's perfect spot to watch a sunset (with a G&T!) These lovely old bricks have weathered even more with mosses and forget-me-nots all colonising the nooks and crannies.  The polyanthus have increased in numbers over the years and the sparrows always eat the yellow ones!

Frogs and Spawn

Here's our frogspawn and here's our resident frog!!  Can anyone actually tell the difference between frog and toad spawn?

Dead Frog and Frogspawn?

A fine warm day and time to finish tidying the pond.  Last week, Chris donned on waders, scooped out the rubbish from the bottom and we left it on the side for any newts etc to creep back into the water.  This week, it was cleaning out the filtration system and the pump as well as remove silt from the lights.  Rather than wading in (which would have stirred everything up again) Chris decided to do the ladder and plank trick and keep his feet dry!  In the meantime, I washed out all the bits inside the filter and then Chris washed out all the pipes to and from the filter, pond and culvert. I rescued as many pebbles as I could and dragged them back up the beach.  The trouble is; they all slide into the water when anyone walks on them! Having put everything back together again, we left things to settle before switching on the pump and went off to plant the remaining plants which had been laid in the veg patch and then Chris dug the whole lot and then raked it all level.  

It was when we returned to the pond to ensure the water was circulating reliably, that I spotted a real first. Frogspawn!!  Never before have we had frogspawn in the pond.  The strange coincidence was that Chris had found a dried frog corpse on lawn earlier - weird.  Let's hope we have loads of tadpoles and that the fish don't eat them all!!  Fingers crossed.

Easy & Effortless Elephants' Ears.

Bergenias

We have moved a couple of shrubs which we felt were just a little too close to our favourite Wedding Cake Tree (Cornus Controversa Variegata).  It's looking so pretty, it just has to have pride of place!  At only 4' tall, I can hardly wait for it to put on more height.  The base of it can just about be discerned in the background - it is still a baby after all!  Despite it looking a tad lopsided in the photo, in reality it's perfectly upright.  The Elephants' Ears (Bergenias) nearby are rather more prominent and are flowering quite prolifically.  These plants are both easy and effortless!  They flower reliably and increase without taking over and seem happy with just the odd tidy up.  What more could you ask from a plant?