Tuesday 22 February 2011

Ha-Ha!

Hello again,

Just thought I'd recall some of the jobs I've been up to this last week or so, before they all blend into one another & I forget how much we've achieved! When I say 'we', I mean the efforts both myself & the grounds assistant have put in, both with the more run of the mill tasks, & also with project work.

Last week I returned to the Ha-Ha, to continue its clean up. Basically a 200 yard+ run of ha-ha that is mostly intact, except for short sections of the inner wall which have collapsed. When I arrived at the property last May, the ha-ha was already clothed in nettles, & it was many weeks before I could spend any time sorting out this feature. The ha-ha is of course on the very front of the property, & therefore needs to be looking good to all passing visitors.

We have basically trimmed & re-layed nearby hedging, removed Elm suckers that were threatening the stability of the ha-ha wall, & have cleared away most all of the remaining woody growth, to leave a tidy feature, ready for the coming season.

In a different area, namely the car park, we've began renovating the hedging that separates the parking bays. Mixed species plants have been used to encourage wildlife I would assume. Although they have been trimmed neatly each season, this has ensured almost all the plants haven't been able to flower, or produce fruit...which is a great shame. Agreement was sought for a drastic height reduction, in order to bring the hedge down to a manageable height, & also to allow better vision for driver exiting the car park. Not a small task in itself, as we have several, quite wide bays worth of hedging plants to cut with loppers, or saw, but the job is going really smoothly.... so far!

Well as you'll have read, its all go at the moment, with no let up in sight, especially as spring is now well on the way. Before long, we'll be right into the mowing season!

Hope you're all busy & enjoying those gardens?

Gary

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