Conifer Area

Our long term plan, as has been said before, is to make our garden as easy to maintain as possible. I quite like cutting grass; I find it therapeutic for some reason and like to view the results. Maria particularly likes "stripes" on the front lawn. The grassed area to the top of the drive contains a variety of conifers of differing sizes and to cut around them is a nightmare. One of the tasks I set myself after returning from holiday, was to make this area easier to look after and so I have cut a border next to the wall and around all the conifers. I had considered another area of chippings similar to that in the front lawn but Maria wants to try it this way. The photographic evidence is not easy to see but the following two photos do give some idea of what I have done so far.

Before

After

If you look carefully, you will see a couple of newly planted Rhododendrons; the hole for one of those I had to dig using a clump hammer and wrecker bar! The sub-soil around here is fierce stuff and if the house is built on this, then there is little chance of it ever falling down!

Roseveare in Bloom

As anyone who has ever visited us here in Gothers will know, our garden is usually a collection of different shades of green. The garden was planted with a large variety of different shrubs with a view to ease of maintenance. During the Spring, however, we do get some colour from the daffodils and various other plants so I thought that I would just show a few pictures that I have taken over the last couple of weeks.

Forsythia

Tulips, Azalea & Berberis in the rockery

Tulips & Primula

Tulips in front of Pieris

Azalea

Gorse

I have a particular reason for including this last photo, which will become apparent in a future Blog.

The Buzzard, the Magpie & the Bunny

Sometimes, living in the country reminds us that not all is pretty and comfortable. Last year I made comment on the Magpie that was busily destroying the life of a Greenfinch on our front lawn. Yesterday morning as I pulled back the bedroom curtain, something caught my eye on the ground at the bottom of the field; it turned out to be a baby rabbit struggling in the talon of a large Buzzard whilst, bizarrely, a Magpie chased around at the back of the Buzzard trying to have his/her chunk out of the rabbit. I am not a great fan of rabbits but it was a sad sight to see one so young lose its life. As I rushed around trying to find the camera, the Buzzard obviously caught sight of me and relinguished the now deceased Bunny and flew off into the distance. After a Crow and the Magpie had a go at the carcase, the Buzzard eventually returned, picked up the body and once again disappeared into the distance leaving only a load of fur to identify what had been there.