Path and Stream ClearingIt's been a very busy couple of days in the garden. I've been carrying on with our new 'path' and 'stream' project. It is just full of brambles and stinging nettles and my poor hands are a mess, in spite of wearing supposedly bramble proof gloves. I tell you B & Q, they are not!
Pile of rubbish, trees on the bank and old fashioned pussy willow trees at the top left
Where you can see the lower patch of blue sky is the boundary of our land, the stream runs right to the top then runs parallel with the boundary.
Jim snipping the willows, lots still to trim as you can see from the tall ones behind him.
This dead tree was has been freed and placed on the bank. Where I've cleared all the nettle and ivy, you can now see through to the mini orchard at the top of the vegetable area.
The Dam BuilderYesterday I paddled up and down the stream as it was much easier than walking on the area I've
de-
brambled, which is looking a little like the Somme! Luckily my wellies are waterproof. I was pulling ivy and brambles off the bank to clear that too. I did get a bit carried away and reverted to my childhood. My parents used to have a caravan on the Isle of
Sheppey and my brother, sister and I used to make dams in a stream that ran down to the sea. It was really pure mud and clay, but we loved it. So, I made some dams in our stream! They were great for washing your wellies in!! What fun I had. Jim threatened to bomb them and was singing the theme from
The Dam Busters Film. How childish!!
I stayed outside until it went dark and then lit a bonfire. It wasn't wonderful as it had rained the previous night, but I did manage to reduce the pile a bit.
DinnerWhen I went indoors, Jim had been on the phone all evening, so we ended up having dinner about 11pm!
Spag Bol too, which was lovely, followed by
rhubarb crumble and cream, also delicious. We had to stay up quite late to work off the food.
TuesdayToday it was quite sunny most of the time and I once more set about tackling the would be path. Jim did some mowing of the meadow paths, built another cold frame and kept me supplied with refreshments. What a fine husband. By this evening I had almost reached the boundary of our land. It's hard going up there, wall to wall stinging nettles and brambles which I had to mattock out. I also trimmed some of the willows while I was at it. The next run to meet up with the top path is just as bad and looks daunting. Still, we'll do it I'm sure.
I started the bonfire a bit earlier, while it was still light in an attempt to get rid of as much of the rubbish as I could. It took ages to light properly but once it caught, it went like crazy. I managed to burn most of the rubbish and really we only have the piles of cut willow left. We may use some of that for Jim's super willow fences. As it was getting dark, Jim brought me a warm hot cross bun and a coffee. Then Buster returned and wanted some of course. He stayed out with me for ages, eventually settling down on the pile of cut willows, near the fire. I was really tired by then and lay down on the willows next to him. He then climbed half on me and we snoozed a while. The sky was clear and the stars twinkled. All I could hear was the trickle of the stream and the dog's gentle breathing. His warm body kept me warm too, plus the heat from the bonfire. It was bliss.
DinnerAs it started to cool, we went inside and had dinner tonight at 10pm! That's the trouble when it stays light until late. Chicken pie, broccoli and roast potatoes with gravy awaited me and we topped that off with a Magnum ice cream. Delicious.
Garden ColourBefore I started work in the garden, I couldn't resist taking some more photos as parts of it seem a riot of colour.
These 2 ferns are growing out of our steps
This yellow broom is fully out and smells amazing. This is on the Fairy Hill
Pretty
variegated bugle in flower (plus lots of daisies).
Cream tulips, these have several heads on one stem. I love their subtle, soft colour
Look at the
pieris forestii now
This is a
variegated pieris
Raggy Tulip almost fully out
perennial
alyssum
Tiny yellow and white spring bulbs, not sure what they are, maybe a kind of tulip
The Fairy Hill with old farm machinery to the fore
The top of the Fairy Hill, taken from the side view
Tulip Heads
Tulips, narcissus and Magnolia
stellata
Red/Orange tulip in the sunshine
The Disintegration ProjectMost of you know I'm involved in the disintegration project where I had to make a 'bundle' of papers, pictures, whatever I wished and put it somewhere outside until May 1st. This is what it looks like today, after some serious rain:
Looking decidedly
raggy
Even the bee's turned his back on us
Seth
Apter's blog can be found here:
http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/
and there is a photo of my parcel when it was first placed up the tree on that page.
Gina Rescues a ShrewI heard Sandy making a horrible 'I've caught a mouse' noise, so went to investigate. He had caught a tiny shrew and it was still alive. I thought it might be worth rescuing, so called Jim and we managed to keep the cats away and caught the little chap in a flower pot. He seemed none the worse for his adventure so I took a photo of him:
Do enlarge the picture by clicking on it and you can see his cute little nose.
He scuttled off into the field and I felt good.
That's about it for now. Sorry if you're sick of tulips. The black ones will be out soon. The Judas Tree isn't yet in flower but you can be sure it'll be well photographed when it is.
Rhododendron
The first rose in our 'snake shaped bed' in flower. An old fashioned rose I think.
The Rootery is a carpet of speedwell, buttercups and grasses of all descriptions
In one section is this lovely yellow pimpernel
A closer shot of the speedwell. It's so delicate and pretty
The laburnum tree is the best it's been. It's a real cascade of gold.
This primula is still flowering. What a rich colour.
This is the first bloom on our climbing rose.
The lupins are a picture
We have many of these fuchsia bushes and they are all covered with little ballerina like flowers.
A delicate pink potentilla - and one of the flowers below
I love the contrasts in this section of the garden. That acer was tiny when we brought it here.
This is a 'before' photo of one of the living willow fences. We 'stripped the willow' yesterday. Must take an 'after'!
Our spotted orchid in the meadow is just beginning to flower. I love it.
This is another spotted orchid nearby and it only has one flower so far.
Looking back from the end of bluebell walk. Most of the bells have gone now.
Jim just outside Bluebell walk among willows and blackthorn.
The first water iris at the bottom of the arboretum
A pretty bi-colour lupin
This yellow and white iris came out today. Isn't it stunning?
Sandy and BlackJack retired to Buster's chair to cool down. 
