Burtonfield Gardens

Have been out this morning mowing the main and side lawns. The circles we cleared around the trees last weekend have made a massive difference to how easy it is to mow the side lawns!

Then took the mower out on the field and mowed the main paths around the meadow and the orchard avenue. It’s great mowing the field since it gives a chance to take stock on how fast things change at this time of year. Noticed the worst areas of dock investation had some plants forming flowers so have mown those areas – don’t mind some broad leaved dock, but don’t want it to take over!

Also mowed the area we’re planning to put a poly-tunnel on – long way off yet, but the more its mown, the less “weeds” and the flatter the area.

Took stock of the ragwort situation. Can’t see any on the field next door this year (perhaps they’ve sprayed?), but its much worse on our field than it was last year. Will have to mention it to Jen. We’re always torn between it being the food plant of the larvae of the stunning cinnabar moth and potential livestock issues… we had lots of larvae and moths last year.

Noticed a big patch of yellow flowers by the road, so mowed a strip alongside the beech hedge to have a look It’s not ragwort – its some form of dandelion I think…need to look it up. Hadn’t noticed that in the corner of the field is a large limb that has fallen from the willow! Not sure how long its been there, but checked the rest of the tree to make sure nothing was overhanging the road.

This afternoon? … mowing the back and “secret” lawn of course!

On the whole the weather has been warm and fine with sufficient rain to aid good plant growth. Much of our recently planted plants have grown well and now cover most of the borders we dug this spring.

The beds are looking surprisingly mature. Seed sowing and potting on in the greenhouse has not stopped all summer. At times it has been difficult to know where to put the plants. We are now overrun with Yellow Achilleas, Evening Primrose, Broom, Penstemons, and many more. All waiting patiently for the new borders to be dug in autumn.

Injuries prevented all but essential work in the garden during late July and August. This led to a massive clear up operation as soon as fitness returned. Hedges were growing to create an untidy mess; these were cut several times to keep pace with their rapid development. The grass has required weekly cutting and edging. There are serious weed infestations in some areas of the grass. These will get attention in the autumn.

The wildflower meadow looked like a muddy plain for much of the summer. Ribwort plantain gradually grew well along with a few Musk Mallows, Buttercups and Yarrow. By the middle of August we had a flourishing wildflower meadow full of insect activity. We were delightfully surprised by how wonderful it looked. Although the seed had germinated in a patchy fashion this should even out over the years as more seed germinates.

The Dock in the wildflower meadow has grown well despite being ploughed up. So we embarked on a programme of pulling up this smothering weed. Since the soil was moist this was not too strenuous except for a number of very established plants which required cutting. We are unlikely to kill all the dock but at least it will weaken the plants. If we remove dock in this way each year their numbers will decline and allow the meadow to develop. It may be a labour intensive method of controlling this perennial weed but it does not involve the use of toxic chemicals. Regular mowing will also help in achieving our goal

We made slow progress at the start of the month due to working away from home. This meant I missed the arrival of my long awaited greenhouse. However construction did begin in my absence…

and it was soon erected and filled on my return. Once filled with existing plants and seedlings the 20’x 8’ greenhouse had plenty of room for further sowings and potting up. The continued good weather prevented the final digging over of some of our new beds. We concentrated on planting potatoes and filling a bed with our growing euphorbia collection. It was reassuring to see signs of new growth on the raspberries and blackcurrants. April has been a month of tremendous change in the garden as the trees and shrubs have blossomed and produced fresh new leaves. An amazing sight!

We aimed to plant as many of the plants taken from our previous garden. This meant extensions to the grass bed and woodland garden. We had lots of bargains bought from nurseries last month to plant. We received a Phormium ‘Yellow wave’ from a newly established nursery in N. Ireland. (Bali-Hai Nursery) The Phormium had several healthy new shoots that I potted up on the day of its arrival. Hopefully in time it will grow into a spectacular specimen plant. We now have a growing collection of Phormiums, Euphorbias, Heucheras, Tiarellas, and their resulting cross-breeds Heucherellas. We have produced a new labelling system that we hope will help us to learn the names of all the different varieties.

The dry weather enabled our agricultural contractor to get his seven tonne tractor on the field to harrow and drill the soil. The work was completed in the second week of April but the dry warm weather has not been conducive to germination. At the end of April we still have a barren landscape apart from the growing dock! The last few days of April have been wet so we are hopeful the seed will germinate soon.