Hidden gems

September 2024. Most visitors to this wonderful park love to wander or exercise their dogs along the main trails and pathways, or just sit and take in the natural beauty.

However, there are a few dog-free areas which are just as lovely. At the back of the picnic area are more mown trails (the ox-eye daisies were particularly amazing this year), then there's the developing willow tunnel and woods behind.

There's a lot more growth at present than this photo shows. Hopefully, we will soon be shaping this around the 'tunnel'.

The woods descend into a hollow, which I call 'the dell'. This area is sometimes used by the scouts but was becoming overgrown and needed a general tidy up. So Tabby, Chris and I set about lopping, strimming and raking.

This is actually quite close to the Oak Lane car park.

This photo shows the approach to the 'Dell'. We removed a few low branches to improve access.

Some of the fastest growing plants can be a nuisance, for example cleavers (goose grass), but especially nettles and brambles which encroach the main pathways and trails. At this time of year we are constantly checking and clearing (as best we can) the worst affected areas. I usually carry a pair of shears when mowing to avoid getting caught up. This also applies to the many planted beds, which to some extent are protected by the overgrowth.

A recent clearing, which in this case included mugwort but not shown on this photo.

Before....

    

and after....

plus a bit of mulching....

After another large litter pick (unfortunately, never disappointing), Tabby and I set to work on repairing the wooden rails around the badger in the picnic area. The rails were installed to protect the spring bulbs, planted in 2022.

Firstly, we needed to source the wood, chosen from some hazel trees behind the apple orchard.

The photo shows the 4 cut and trimmed lengths, together with the old rails/posts that needed replacing. 

This was a good time to strim and clear some of the larger weeds in the enclosure.

Almost done. Like some of the set tasks, we simply ran out of time to complete on the day.

And finally...harvest time is upon us once again.

The meadow grass is cut into rows ready for baling.

Another season is drawing to an end.

I'll be back soon to report on more of my next exploits, which I hope you will find both interesting and informative.   

Thanks to everyone who commented or 'liked' on my last post.