Made It - A Rain Free Day

Thursday was our first rain free day for 10 days. It was a pleasant sunny day although surprisingly the temperature never managed 20°C despite the sunshine. It was cool over night too with the temperature falling to 9.5°C.

After a slow start we’re now managing a decent harvest on each visit to the plot. The main casualty of the wet weather has been the strawberries. The last week has seen most of the fruit turn mouldy on the plants or be eaten by the masses of slugs and snails that are about.

Whilst our tayberries have been battered by the rain spoiling the berries our raspberries have stood up to the weather better. The Glen Ample and Glen Magna bushes have a thicket of new canes growing which I think has helped protect the berries.

I also made a start on taming one of our over grown beds that was originally planted with perennial flowers primarily for cut flowers. After several years it has become a bed of large perennial weeds which have swamped the flowers. The only option is to clear the bed and start again.

Stage one strimming is completed. At least now it’s possible to see just what needs doing and we can start removing weeds and digging over the bed. The laurel bush visible at the top of the picture is next in line for the lopping and sawing treatment. It was planted to give some protection against the wind but it’s grown rather too large and will have to be “trimmed” back.