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01/30/2006
Pruning
Sunny but cold, frosty weekend. Boys didn't stay out for long either day!
More pruning of soft fruit. Pruned out some old wood from the blackcurrant and removed a few crossing branches. Gave the redcurrant and whitecurrant a bit of a trim - removed some crossing branches and shortened the leader. The gooseberries got a haircut, with the shears rather than the secateurs. They don't mind! I tidied up the fig tree slightly, also and also the apples.
Spent a few hours tidying up the summerhouse beds. Pruned a couple of shrubs in those beds (eg the Spirea) & tidied up a couple of the others (Daphne, Azalea). Pulled up a fair few weeds. Potted up half a dozen holly seedlings. No idea what I will do with these - have about 10 holly trees growing in pots! I then hacked back the climbers on the shed wall. You can see the wall for the first time in about 6 years. This was the cotoneaster, honeysuckle and winter Jasmine. Also dug up a couple of places where the winter jasmine tips have rooted and put them in pots. Maybe someone will want them? The two other winter jasmines (on the south wall of the shed and up on the patio) need to be pruned after flowering. Anyway, two very tidy looking beds now - most pleasing. The Sarcococca has berries and flowers, the daphne is just starting to flower, plus a few winter aconites out.
Then moved onto to the path down the side of the patio. Pruned the fuchsia write back to the ground and the Leycesteria formosa back, pulled up a load of weeds, removed some of last year's dead stuff from the borders. Will delay a proper tidy-up, as a lot of ladybirds were taking shelter from the cold weather. Weeded the path - it wasn't looking too good. Clipped the Ceanothus - it's grown rapidly from a cutting taken in Autumn 2004. Swept up a stack of bay leaves - I reckon these were harbouring the pests which attached the bay last year. Also chopped the rosemary back a bit. Then got the ladder and sorted out the climber on the back wall of the utility room. Can't remember what it is exactly, but it was in the gutter and on the roof, so needed a good tidy up. Also tidied up the hydrangea by the back door, which looks to be close to breaking dormancy already.
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