Waiting for the Sun

It's a bit dreary outside at the moment but it is supposed to clear and turn into a nice day. I hope so - there is still so much to do.

On Saturday I pruned the roses. I was nowhere near as intimidated as last year - there was an article in the RHS Garden magazine entitled 'Roses: myths and facts'. Amongst other things it said that hard pruning each year is not needed, and pruning every stem to an outward facing bud produces fewer flowers than cutting with hedge-trimmers! I removed the 3 Ds - damaged/dead/diseased and then just cut back to a reasonable size. One plant had had it, so I dug it out leaving fifteen surviving. There appears to be plenty of room in the bed - it is its own low walled area housing our septic tank - for the six new ones I have ordered.

I then had my first weeding/moss removal session of the high bank, starting at the left hand side. It is hard work up there - trying to balance, not step on/flatten with rubbish sack the 'real' plants, not slide back down, and actually do the weeding. I have imposed a new rule that one sack filled is enough for a session - otherwise my legs will ache for the next three days. I got two thirds of the way up...

Yesterday morning I cleared another area at the top of the drive for my third compost bin. This involved removing the stones until I got down to mainly soil from an area large enough for the base - a circle of about a metre diameter. This took quite a long time as after the easy top layers had been removed there was a sort of double layer embedded in the mud. Forking it over loosened them enough to pick them out. Once the third bin was in place it was baptised with the moss/weeds from the day before.

After lunch I commenced my 2007 chemical warfare campaign - the ground elder and dandelions in the long bank were first in the firing line. The giant hogweed at the top of the high bank was next - it was already almost two feet high. Once up there I spotted another one coming through close by - zap. Around the side of Margaret's barn is a mass of them - I sprayed the ones I could easily reach. This is going be a long term problem...

I then weeded/de-mossed the next section along of the high bank - I have decided to get the lower sections sorted out first as that is where a lot of the new plants will go. Another sack of moss/weeds added to compost bin number three.

I then recommenced my logging of the long bank - another two metres mapped out. I have decided this is going to take too long - from here on in I think I will just photograph it and make notes of where the gaps are...