HIGHER MORWELL GARDEN DIARY 2021
30th January
These pages are a rolling diary of the changes
and events in the garden for the year 2021 in
words and pictures.
January to April
New Year’s Day and
unusually we have a
light dusting of snow.
The ponds are frozen
over but mercifully not
badly enough to affect
the pump.
The crocosmia is
already showing signs
of life, bit early for
frogs but we live in
hope!
16th January and the
greenhouse has gone to
a new home.
Access to the stored
wood is much better. We
kept the aluminium
tables as they are very
useful and reasonably
weatherproof!
No plans as yet for a use
for the flat space but
the woodstore may need
some protection from
rain coming from the
east.
Pond life! 22nd February left, frog spawn in both ponds. One clump lower pond, two in the upper. It is due
to become a swarm of tadpoles mid to late March. They won’t be so pleased to see a tadpole predator right,
28th February seen swimming in the upper pond. I suppose it must have walked from somewhere to our
pond, amazing.
Amongst other things 2020
was the year of the voles.
2021 is fast becoming the
year of the moles.
Molehills are appearing on
all four boundaries and so
far success with stopping
them is at zero. The
ground itself is very soft
after the high winter
rainfall making it easy for
the little burrowers to
make new tunnels. The
idea is to set traps on their
main routes but that isn’t
easy. I’ve put traps in
several tunnels but all so
far have been used as
dumps for excavated soil,
filling the trap and making
it useless.
Even the field behind us
now has an impressive
array of molehills. The
sheep aren’t bothered.
29th March. The ponds
are suffering badly with
algae produced from the
many leaves rotting at
the bottom of both.
We’ll take steps in the
autumn to ensure this
doesn’t happen again as
removing them is a long
tedious business.
But what I thought was
bits of stick trapped in
one of the fibre optic
plants which has fallen
over is actually toad
spawn! Closer inspection
has found more of this in
the other pond too.
The borders of the
protected area are now
home to rescued irises
amongst other plants,
now in newly-dug beds
along the border wire.
The rectangle of longer
grass is where the new
fruit cage will be
erected.
We hope that later this
year, if we can source
one, we’ll have a new
greenhouse put in to the
right of the bonfire pit.
Current delivery times
are around six months…
Two new trees have been added recently, on the left is a Cheals Weeping Cherry planted on the 14th April
and on the right taken on 30th April is an Acer Seiryu planted a bit earlier in the year. We hope the Acer
manages to reach three metres in height eventually although that could take ten more years!
The erythroniums (left) have fared very well this year, thriving when left alone by the rabbits. Also the ring of
bluebells have avoided being eaten by the deer and are looking magnificent, seen on 25th April.
The citrus trees
have overwintered
very well in the
polytunnel, and it
is filled with the
scent from the new
blossom. Radishes
in full production
and many veg
plants potted on
growing on the
hanging frames.
Less good is the
health of the bees.
Only one hive has
survived the very
cold and damp
weather, at one
time in 2020 we
had nine active
hives.