Gardening

[Tripps]

Hire a goat,

Content removed due to apparent lack of interest. No problem.

There have been no views as far as I can wqrk out since yesterday so it's back to Private.

[Stanley]

The flowers have opened on my meadow.....

[Cathy]

[Tizer]

The flowers have opened on my meadow.....

Can we have the rest of the poem please?

[Stanley]

[Whyperion]

Hire a goat,

Content removed due to apparent lack of interest. No problem.

There have been no views as far as I can wqrk out since yesterday so it's back to Private.

Are you turning into the BBC or the Tory Party and re-writing history ?

[plaques]

Whyperion wrote: ↑19 Jul 2022, 15:35
Hire a goat,

My pal kept a goat to keep the thistles down. The trouble was it ate everything plus the fact you had to carry a big stick just to get out of the house.

[Whyperion]

Whyperion wrote: ↑19 Jul 2022, 15:35
Hire a goat,

My pal kept a goat to keep the thistles down. The trouble was it ate everything plus the fact you had to carry a big stick just to get out of the house.

Thats why I said hire - to be returned after use. I kid you not

[Tizer]

Where I live there are many horse chestnut trees, often very old with a massive girth and beautiful when in flower and it's great to see all the conkers. But this year the leaves all look brown and shrivelled as if the tree is dying. Looking on the RHS web site there seem to be a couple of causes and neither of them fatal. Let's hope that's correct!

[Stanley]

I note that there are different flowers blooming in my wildflower meadow. All very small but definitely different.

[plaques]

My Gooseberry bushes have done nothing this years. Plenty of pea size gooseberries but virtually no full size mature ones. I decided to dig out some of the bushes, we have far too many for our needs and I can't even give them away. The thing was that the ground was only damp for the first 3 inches then after that it was bone dry almost like dust. Never seen the ground as dry as this.

[Stanley]

Yes indeed Ken, I think we are in a drought but nobody seems to be admitting it....

[Sue]

We have just finished pruning a very large weeping cotoneaster bush. Its never the right time to prune. Bees like the flowers, birds like the berries. We have just cut this years growrg off as flowers come on old growth. Bob has just started the Bay bushes which have doubled in size since June...

The oak trees that we are having cut down are slowly dying. They are about 2 metres in girth and 20 metres tall. Branches randomly fall off and we are worried a storm will bring them down across the road and the commune will remove them ( and the useful firewood) and charge us the earth. They are about 300 years old and its very sad but they are mot safe to leave. Its taken us years to find a proper tree surgeon to do the job and its going to cost 5000 euros agh.......

Meanwhile in the garden Stanley your Ladslove ( Southern wood) cutting is thriving. I cut it right back last autumn and it is now 1 metre by 1 metre

[Tizer]

We've always had a lot of cotoneasters because they are so good for wildlife. We can cut them right back and they'll recover quickly. Our front garden slopes away from the house and we've stabilised it by planting prostrate cotoneaster varieties. They quickly cover the ground and you also benefit from the flowers and berries. Cotoneaster `Coral Beauty' is a slow growing variety that makes a beautiful low hedge and has small glossy leaves.

Bay bushes grow remarkably fast and need keeping in check. But be careful if you are affected by the volatiles given off the by the leaves - not a problem out in the open but bad for some people in a closed space. My cousin and her husband took all the brash from a big bay that we pruned and took it in their car to the dump. They both felt ill afterwards due to breathing in the fumes. We haven't been affected when we've carried bay but we all keep the windows open now if doing so!

It's sad about your oak trees Sue but you can't risk them causing damage or injury. If they were out in the open fields they could be left because they usually drop branches naturally and grow old to become a stag's horn oak and the deadwood is great for insects.

[plaques]

They are about 300 years old and its very sad but they are mot safe to leave. Its taken us years to find a proper tree surgeon to do the job and its going to cost 5000 euros agh.......

Not surprised if this includes sawing the branches and trunk up to lengths that will fit in your stove/fire. I would split them while they are still in the green. I've paid over a £1,000 per tree for similar size trees. My neighbours paid £1,000 just to drop the tree. Cutting up was at pals rates but three quarters of the wood went to the pal.

[Stanley]

My Ladslove didn't survive the re-wilding Sue.

[Sue]

They are about 300 years old and its very sad but they are mot safe to leave. Its taken us years to find a proper tree surgeon to do the job and its going to cost 5000 euros agh.......

Not surprised if this includes sawing the branches and trunk up to lengths that will fit in your stove/fire. I would split them while they are still in the green. I've paid over a £1,000 per tree for similar size trees. My neighbours paid £1,000 just to drop the tree. Cutting up was at pals rates but three quarters of the wood went to the pal.

Yes it does. We decided it was worth the extra money for us not to do that , it would take us so long to do it ourselves. We will still have to transport it to the wood store by the house which is about 200 m away but we think we can do that in our trailer pulled by our small tractor The two men will live on site in their caravan for 8 days whilst they do the job. They have asked for access to a toilet

[Sue]

My Ladslove didn't survive the re-wilding Sue.

D0905374-423E-4919-BA62-F50F680B2806.jpeg

[Stanley]

That looks healthy Sue! Reading the costs of tree disposal reminds me once more that I am completely out of touch with modern prices. That €5000 is more that I paid for Hey Farm and seven acres! I know that's a ridiculous comparison because that was 60 years ago but in my head that's what the cost of your trees means. Re-wilding my front garden including getting rid of the Lilac cost £30.... I don't want to be dragged kicking and screaming into the world of modern prices!

[plaques]

Yes it does. We decided it was worth the extra money for us not to do that , it would take us so long to do it ourselves. We will still have to transport it to the wood store by the house which is about 200 m away but we think we can do that in our trailer pulled by our small tractor

Looking on the bright side. A trailer load of soft wood, about 25 barrow full, costs £120. Oak is much denser and burns longer. I would think about £500 per tree. With the cost of fuel going up by the day it may be a sound investment.

[Stanley]

That sort of thinking could lead to tree surgeons being in great demand....

[Sue]

Yes it does. We decided it was worth the extra money for us not to do that , it would take us so long to do it ourselves. We will still have to transport it to the wood store by the house which is about 200 m away but we think we can do that in our trailer pulled by our small tractor

Looking on the bright side. A trailer load of soft wood, about 25 barrow full, costs £120. Oak is much denser and burns longer. I would think about £500 per tree. With the cost of fuel going up by the day it may be a sound investment.

We bought some wood when we bought the house and built a wood store in the barn, about 10 cubic metres, we still have most of it and have so many trees that need constant pruning ( most being self seeded oak) so will never need to buy wood again . The twigs and branches that fall fuel our BBQ and pizza oven.

[Stanley]

That's a good resource Sue, and well managed!

[Tizer]

I'm glad to see concerns being raised about plastic grass. Most professional gardeners and wildlife people we know are against using it but people get talked into it by businesses selling the stuff. It will all eventually end up in landfill. And note the lady saying it can get so hot you can't walk on it in bare feet!...
`Is there anything green about plastic grass?' LINK

[Stanley]

Make plastic 'grass' illegal and substitute coconut matting instead. The plastic grass is essentially outdoor carpet for creating an extension of the living room. Nowt wrong with that until it is regarded as artificial grass and becomes one more source of non degradable plastic waste.
(Worth seeking out Roy Strong's views on the English predilection for lawns....)