Katy's Garden

More and more work in the former Mess. The place begins to look really civilized now. With the hazelnut gone (and Iwill see to it that it remains gone, so that the remaining trees and shrubs form an open arena) the place has gained a whole new look. Plenty of light streaming in all morning until 1 pm, and dappled shade afterwards. It's sheltered from the wind in three directions, north, east and west, and it's visually isolated from the rest of the garden by evergreen shrubs. There is no chance to make an exotic garden as in Great Dixter here, but I think I could at least carve a little tropical corner. I really need to improve the soil before that though, nothing can be planted there until next year.


I have spent the morning hoeing out a barrow load of neettle roots, and an amazing number of stones. I can only imagine that the place under the boulder has been used as a dump for the stones from all the rest of the garden. When I finished with the hoe the soil looked absolutely appalling. Dry, crumbly, spent. I don't know what all the weeds and brambles were living of: there is absolutely nothing in this dust. And not a single worm. I can only imagine that the plants were gnawing on each other like overcrowded tadpoles.

I carried close on 500 liters of compost and leaf mould to the place. Some of the stuff is not fully composted yet, but since I don't plan on planting anything soon it hardly matters. More important of all the leaf mould is teeming with nice fat earthworms. I have some ten cm of organic matter on top of the soil now, but I aim to at least triple that before this time next year. I will beg for manure from the farmers, bury troublesome neighbours, and mulch with a mountain of leaves... but next summer I will plant the tropics in Macken.