Ravendale House

The telescopic hedge trimmer finally arrived yesterday, better late than never. Just like the strimmer, it’s battery needed 15 hours of charging, so we weren’t able to try it out until today.

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How are you supposed to get anything done in these temperatures? It’s freezing, and that’s during the day, I shudder to think what it’s like in the middle of the night. Thank goodness for central heating!

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Among the plants we brought with us when we moved here, were several clematis. Unfortunately, most haven’t done well, in fact of the 10 or so varieties we brought only 3 have thrived and prospered.

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Today we had another beautiful, bright and sunny afternoon, but oh so very, very windy. I have to confess to being a bit of a fair weather gardener, and I certainly don’t like wind.

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Whilst I was pottering around in the garden yesterday, I remembered a weed that should really have made my top 5. The reason I forgot it the other day was that I’ve had moderate success at removing it from the garden, and it disappears in winter anyway. Out of sight out of mind.

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Today has been an afternoon of mixed fortune. Firstly the good news, it was a lovely day, the first one in ages where I’ve been able to get outside and do some gardening. I started by hoeing a few weeds from around the shed and under the hedge, it’s a bit too early for weedkiller, but I just wanted to stop them in their tracks for the next week or two, and then I’ll weedkill them properly when it’s a bit warmer.

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It’s commonly said that a weed is simply a plant that is growing in the wrong place. Whilst this is true to a certain extent, I feel there are a few exceptions which should be classified as weeds all the time. Here in ascending order of loathing are my top five weeds.

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When we moved here 10 years or so ago, the hedges which surround our 3/4 acre plot, were about 6 feet high. You could easily add another 2 feet on to that for the growth they made each summer, which meant that by August they were untidy and very oppressive. Being so high they were a real pain to trim and although they offered good protection from the wind they did cut out a lot of light from both flower and vegetable gardens.

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Today I’ve spent a pleasant afternoon in the flower garden. The weather once again was sunny and cold, which will do just fine. Everything is pretty wet after last nights rain, (not suitable for kneeling down or digging) so I decided to turn my attentions to a geranium, a few foxgloves and the ivy growing around the bottom of the conservatory.

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Today was another nice day, so I decided to prune the clematis and solanum that grow together up the side of the kitchen window. I usually do them about now, and they both look a real mess when I’ve finished, but it’s not long before they begin to put out shoots and very soon they will both be thriving. In fact the clematis already has lots of buds on, so I’m not a moment too soon.

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