Transformers!

Not far along one of the (east) woodland paths is a small clearing, which has been a haven for wild flowers.

Unfortunately, with all of the other jobs that require attention, this area hasn't been tended to for a while.

 As you can see, nettles, brambles, self seeded weeds and small trees have completely taken over.

However, that was about to change.....

Armed with shears, loppers and strimmer, Tabby, Chris and I set to work. In order to reduce the rate of regrowth, we decided to pull the nettles and brambles up by their roots (a lot more laborious but worth it). Of course this meant a bit of stings and scratches (ho hum)!

Some of the bramble roots were quite stubborn, but we had come prepared with rabbiting spades especially for this.

Another full days work, but finally....

Hopefully, the wild flowers will return. Not sure if there were any early spring bulbs. However, a few foxgloves had survived.

It will be interesting to see what develops after this.

An unusual malformation found nearby....

The base looks like someone's first attempt at pottery!

June 2025. Snowberry is widely used for borders in Catton Park. It is fast growing and produces lovely white berries in late summer and autumn.

The hoggin path running from Victoria pond to the first woodland trail close by was becoming overgrown along its edges (this included a variety of plants, but mainly the one in question).

The electric hedge trimmer came in very handy for this, Tabby followed up with a strimmer for the grass verges.

We also used loppers for any crown raising that was necessary (plus a pruning saw for thicker branches).

A sample of the finished work!

There was more strimming and crown raising in the afternoon. This time on the other side of the park. Another woodland trail leading to the 'dell' from the back of the picnic area.

Unfortunately, a tree had fallen across the grassy path close to campfire location used by the scouts (the tree was all but dead and covered in ivy - as we often find). Setbacks are common and usually soon rectified - as was the case here.

Another good day's work.

There was a bit of a surprise on my next visit...

The willow tunnel needed clearing of weeds and adding more woodchip along the internal path.

What surprised me was how much the willow had grown.

We normally leave trimming and shaping the willow until the autumn, but it looked like this needed addressing as well.

We pulled up all the weeds inside the tunnel and strimmed along the outside, before I set about shaping and trimming the new growth. Unfortunately, the willow that we planted in March hadn't taken (the dry weather may have affected this).

The perpendicular shoots above the canopy had to be lopped as these couldn't be shaped. Precariously perched on a step ladder whilst trying to locate these shoots through the thick canopy was a struggle (I think we could do with a cherry-picker). 

Looking a lot better inside....

....and out!

Our next transformation involved clearing more fence-line. The city college volunteers had already cleared back the bottom section of St Faiths Road from the traffic lights. We carried on clearing more of the outgrowing weeds, low branches and piled-up leaves along the roadside path (having cleared another section just last month).

We then moved across the park to Oak Lane, clearing a long section from the car park to Buttercup meadow. This was more overgrown and in the full glare of the sun - very wilting indeed! 

Nevertheless, we soldiered on and got the job done!

Tabby spotted this Vapourer caterpillar whilst we were working - isn't it splendid.

I wonder what I'll be getting up to next time? Keep an eye out for my next post in a few weeks.