I seem to have been a little lax in the garden of late, the result of weather or other commitments rather than general sloth, but seem to have made up for it this week by ticking off many and varied jobs on my mental 'to do' list. Ridding the garden of excess ivy is not one of those and is unlikely ever to be so, but I was pleased to remove this admittedly very attractive arrangement of ivy from the wall near the bottom of the garden. It began as a single stem snaking its way vertically upwards before branching out over the years into this neat fan shape - a very satisfactory result if this was a fruit tree or other decorative shrub. Sadly, it isn't, but I was pleasantly surprised that with a chisel and wooden mallet it came off the wall quite quickly in large pieces of matted root; even digging the main root out of the cutting bed wasn't as onerous as it might have been, although there may still be small sections of root making their way across the bed out of sight.
This is not the only cutting bed to have been cleared, as all but a few underperforming zinnias (I am still hopeful of an odd bloom or two!) are left in the four main beds, although the dahlias are still going strong in the other two.
Whilst working at this end of the garden I spotted the bright ruby jewels of ripened raspberries in the fruit cage and picked all those that were currently ready, almost half a pound. Having picked a similar amount just a few days ago, it appears that cropping has been better this autumn than in all previous years, when autumn picking was limited to only an ounce or two at a time. With 'double cropping' my autumn fruiting raspberries, I have already had a good crop earlier in the year (over 20lbs), but have noticed that the berries on this later crop are bigger than those in the summer - a first, I am sure. Hard to tell if it is because the bushes are more mature, or if it is yet another weather-related incidence. Whatever it is, the boost in supply of breakfast raspberries is most welcome.
Work is currently at a standstill on the stream, because the system is still losing water - not from the replacement liner in the reservoir, but in the stream itself. For some reason, the pump seems to be pumping water at a faster rate than previously, creating a raging torrent rather than a babbling brook, thus generating a deeper water course and emptying the reservoir more quickly. I suspect it is the deeper water seeping into the banks that is the main culprit. Meanwhile, I asked the Golfer to cut some netting to place on top of the watercourse to keep out leaves and apples - not a pretty sight but it is only temporary and certainly does the trick, a trick which should have been employed many years ago.
Planting bulbs, a long outstanding task, was largely accomplished today, a great relief. Indoor bulbs are always planted at the kitchen table, so can be done whatever the weather, although today was overcast, bright dry and pleasant. There are a few outdoor ones still to plant, but all 'little' ones that don't need to be planted very deeply, an otherwise offputting chore.
My sixth and final contribution to the Saturday meme hosted by Jim of Garden Ruminations is a wider picture of my Wordless Wednesday rhododendron, R 'Cheers', sometimes known as 'Christmas Cheer'. Although seeing the first bloom took me by surprise, it was not a surprise to have it blooming in October - or any time between now and spring as it has its own calendar and picks and chooses when it blooms. Especially lovely to see in a fading autumn or stark winter garden of course.
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