The main task today was to rotovate two of the pig paddock which are currently vacant. The last two winters have been decidedly wet and the likelihood is this will become more common. For some weeks at a time during the winter our pig paddocks have been under standing water, despite our sandy soil. Rotovating them is intended to help improve the drainage.
I also found time to plant a magnolia. For about three years lengthy sections of a storm-felled tree have been sitting in a pile in our front drive. They were too big to saw up for fire wood. Earlier in the year I got round to manhandling them to form a raised bed in one corner of the drive. The bed is shaped like a grand piano and is 10 feet wide at the front. I filled it with soil excavated from a pond I installed last summer. It was then mulched with a thick layer of wood chips I had to hand. Over the summer, as the soil settled, I topped up the bed with more woodchips. The result is that the soil underneath is rich in humous, deal for plants like magnolias.
The magnolia 'Fairy Cream' is the first plant to go in. I have some hellebores ready to plant which I have grown on for the last two years from self-seeded seedlings collected from a relative's garden. I'll add some bulbs too to create a predominantly early spring-flowering bed.
Magnolia 'Fairy Cream' is new to me. It is evergreen and relatively compact, growing up to 2mx2m. The flowers look very impressive from the images I have seen. Something to look forward to.
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| I've included this photo just for the sunbeam |
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| Expectations |
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