
But until we've stopped felling Leylandii I cannot plant anything - it is too likely to get flattened.
But before I plant nice things I need windbreaks, hedges.
But before I can get hedges established we need to finish felling Leylandii.
Are you starting to see a pattern?
However, before we fell more trees we really need to move all the timber from last year.
And then there's all that Thinking I've been doing whilst watching the rain. Dangerous stuff is Thinking. It can get you into all sorts of bother.
I've Been Thinking about The Pond.



The Pond is capitalised because by the time I have finished it is likely to be the size of a small tarn! However, excavating The Pond has its own problems - what the heck do I do with goodness knows how many tons of soil?
Now . . . digging over the ground between the trees we retain in order to make it a lovely environment for a new hedge to grow is going to be Damn Hard Work - and take forever - but I can't do the nice stuff until the hedges are established - and so the Dependencies go on.
And then I had "An Idea" (BTW, when you're my Husband, Small Hobbit having "An Idea" is just as bad as when "I've Been Thinking"). Way back when Monty was gardening at Berryfields, he planted trees in mounds of earth to compensate for poor, shallow soil (well, at least, that's how I remember it).
Back to The Pond (are you dizzy yet?). Why not use the soil from The Pond excavation to make ridges between the tree trunks and plant the hedging whips into them?
Benefits:
* somewhere to put the excavated soil
* I don't have to do the back-breaking work of double digging to prepare the ground for the hedges, I reckon breaking up the surface, removing the worst weeds and laying out the contents of a couple of compost bins would be a reasonable start . . .
* I get the hedges started sooner rather than later
* I get The Pond MUCH sooner than expected
* The hedge is raised which means it will be taller sooner and there will be a (mainly) south facing slope at its base for cowslips and the like.
Cons: Not sure but hopefully some gardening friend who knows more than I do will tell me.
but we still need to move that damn timber and fell the rest of the blasted Leylandii, and before I get too excited about hedge I need to see if the earth we're going to be excavating is usable or nasty blue clay. I think I need a Test Pit.
I wonder if Mrs Flummery is ready for another weekend in Cumbria? In the absence of Tony Robinson, maybe I should borrow a friend with an Archaeology Certificate, we're within sight of a small but significant Roman settlement, who knows what might be lurking under the lawn?