The Old Railway

It's so lovely having this at the back of our house. The previous owner used to maintain it and just kept it clear so we have decided to carry this on. Lee spent quite some time strimming back the overgrowth so that there is a nice walkway through. It goes quite far and backs onto the Llama fields. Luna loves it and it's like a secret escape in the Summer, our own private walkway even though it isn't ours. In the Winter it is totally flooded so not really usable, I believe that is one of the main reasons why the Railway was discontinued. A lot of the land was sold off and we think that this was bought by a neighbour but it is not registered at the Land Registry Office so who knows. We all absolutely love it.

To the Railway

Lee's Strimming

The Path to the Railway Bridge

Secret Steps

The Railway Bridge

Back of Garden

Fixing and Spraying the Fence

Another productive day in the garden. After fixing the fence, Lee has put on his 'Blue Man' suit and is happily spraying away. As usual nothing goes to plan and we have run out of paint so the rest will just have to wait :)

My Little Blue Jelly Baby

Lee Spraying the Fence

Bagging Up the Trees

... and more Spraying

New Panels, Lovely Finished Fence, Nice and Private

The Border is Filling Out :)

Fairy Skulls

Whenever a child says "I don't believe in fairies" there's a little fairy somewhere that falls right down dead
J. M. Barrie, Peter Pan (1904)

I bought a plant last Summer just because I wanted to see what the seed heads looked like. So sad, they look like little fairy skulls. 

Fairy Skulls
Antirrhinum Seed Heads or 'The Bunny Rabbit Plant'

Wasp Nest!

This is just so interesting and beautiful. We weren't sure what it was at first but after looking it up on 'Google Knows Everything' it looks like it's the start of a wasps nest. It's the size of a ping pong ball. The Queen has made a few attempts before settling on this spot (unless that's how big she thinks it's going to be). There are 4 empty chambers that I could see, so either she hasn't laid yet or the workers have flown and are getting ready to extend the nest for more eggs. Either way, I'm sorry to say that this nest has to go as it is right in the entrance to the sun room and also where we are going to set up our archery range. Hopefully Lee can get it off without breaking it as I really want to keep it. Sorry the photos aren't wonderful but my screen was black from the sun.

Tiny Little Wasp Nest

4 Little Chambers

Several Attempts Around the Nest?

Made of Fresh Wood and Saliva

Maria's Sweatshop

Such a glorious day again and managed to snap a few photos of Lee working in the garden. Besides numerous trips to the tip to get rid of the garden rubbish, Lee has been picking Dandelions, mowing the Lawn and Sweeping the Tarmac :)

Dandelion Clock Picking

So Romantic

Pretty Little Dandelions

Mowing the Rough Patch

New Sweeper

Lee's New Toy

Pots and Wheelbarrow

All that digging and moving rocks has done my shoulder in, but the weather was so gorgeous I decided to sort out our pots with mum. Replanting, splitting and generally giving them a bit of TLC. They are nothing great but will be happy in their new homes for a few years now. I can't wait to see what the black pussy willow looks like and I'm looking forward to seeing the lovely white lillies that came with us from London from my Aunty Nieves.

Old Wheelbarrow

Fixed and Painted by Lee

Plant Stand with Pots on

More Pots

Mum certainly likes her Pots

Need to level out the lawn area now ...

Rose Border

We chopped back the Beech Trees so that we could extend the height of the chicken wire, it will probably take a few years to come back but it really needed to be done. We still have the top to do but that's for another day as all the hedges around the garden need trimming back too.

This border was very overgrown and the existing Roses were just smothered with bluebells (most without any flowers) and crocosmia. Mum and I cleaned this border and made it a bit narrower and I attempted to make a drystone wall using most of the rocks from around the garden.

Working our way up

The start of the Drystone Wall

Have done my shoulder in moving these :(

We cleaned the border and took out some of the Crocosmia and Bluebells. We found some Ferns and Irises struggling to be seen. There's also some Aquilegia, Foxgloves, Hollyhocks, Solomon's Seal and a Gladioli. We planted 5 small Pyracantha (with orange berries for the birds), 3 Apple Blossom, Lillies, Alliums, some Perennials and Roses. We also planted some Elephant's ears to fill the border with evergreen ground cover.

The Roses that I ordered from J Parkers were pitiful and I was really disappointed I won't be ordering from them again.

Look how tiny my Roses are! Little Sticks!

Something Lives in this Hole under the Fern

Before

... and After