Thursday 22 March 2012

I Fought The Lawn

And the lawn won.
Well it nearly did, until I got the mower out.


Yes, the first mowing of the season. I use a push mower, no electrics or petrol, saves a fortune on gym membership too. It only takes me ten minutes to mow the lawn, it would take that long to untangle the cable of an electric mower. If you remember the push mowers of old, my dad had one, it was built like a tank; well today's models are really lightweight. I mean, even I can use one.

And then I fed the lawn. I know, all that effort to cut the grass, and then I feed it to make it grow again. Ah well, there is a method in my madness. I use a product called Lawn Magic, often used on football pitches and bowling greens. Basically, it makes the grass grow stronger roots. It also makes the weeds grow. No really, that's a good thing, because you know how lawn weeds hug the ground so the mower misses them, well now they reach for the sky, or to be more precise, my lawn weeder's prongs.


And this is Clematis armandii, now in full bloom. I purchased it a few years ago and planted it in dense shade, to climb up a berberis. To be honest, I didn't think it would survive, but survive it did, and just grew and grew. The first year it clambered up the berberis as it was supposed to do. The following year it climbed up into the hawthorn tree until a gust of wind blew it down. And this year it jumped over the hedge onto my neighbour's lilac tree, where it is flowering its socks off. After flowering, I will be giving it a drastic prune to keep it under control.

The blue tits haven't booked the removal van just yet. They're still just taking small bits of furniture into the nestbox. In fact, one of them had a very close call with a sparrowhawk on one of the feeders. Fortunately, it doesn't seem bothered by the incident, and is continuing to use the feeder as normal. That little bird is far braver than I.

25 comments:

  1. Clematis are such resilient vines. I have a few that are planted in dry soil that with a soaker hose and a lot of love, are thriving. Your armandi is beautiful!! It's been freakishly hot and dry here so our lawn is weird and patchy right now. Maybe your turtle can whip it into shape. :o)

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    1. We are having very warm, dry weather too. Hopefully the morning dew will provide enough to make the lawn feed work.

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  2. I love your writing. We make me smile every time. Do your arms hurt today?

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    1. Yes, they do. I didn't make the connection until you mentioned it.

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    2. Crystal is that ur tortoise in the top photo

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    3. Crystal is that ur tortoise in the top photo

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    4. Yes it is, but it is sooooo slow with that mower.

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    5. I have looked for the same 1 my girlfriends gma gave her the exact same 1 and some vandals destroyed it along with otherthings. I can't find one anywhere do u have access to one or would that b forsale? If so It would absolutely bring some joy to here as her gma is no longer with her.

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    6. Crystal
      If u could look on ur lawnboy and see if there is a manufacture or company name anything please! Her birthday is coming up and I'm trying to find for her!! If u want to sell let me know the price! If nothing else could u please get me somekind of iinformation so I can keep looking! !

      Thank you
      Jon

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  3. I have more weeds than actual grass in my so called lawn, oh well never mind, the insects like it!

    Your Clematis is lovely. I have one called Pink Perfection which is very vigorous but will insist on visiting my neighbour, so ungrateful these plants ;-)

    Let us know when the Blue Tits finally move the bed in ;-)

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    1. The blue tits are still decorating at the moment, no sign of the removal van just yet.

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  4. I forgot to say, your little helper made me laugh!

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  5. I used to have a push mower. But my grass would get so thick I couldn't push through it! (Or, maybe it was the big, tough weeds!) I have never thought to fertilize the weeds so they would grow taller. I have a lot of tiny, little blooming weeds right now that my mower misses. Good tip!

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    1. I'm looking forward to attacking the weeds in about a week's time.

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  6. You do make me laugh with your posts. I love your reports on the birds, they seem to have found a home.

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    1. Well they've took the For Sale sign down, so they must be moving in soon.

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  7. Our first cut is due this weekend if the weather holds -and I just love Clematis they are such a versatile plant. Yours is gorgeous.

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    1. I'm not looking forward to pruning it though, it's really taking over.

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  8. Zabawnie piszesz o trawie, a śliczny clematis niech Ci się pnie dalej. Pozdrawiam.***Fun to write about the grass, and pretty clematis then let you continue. Yours.

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  9. Hello Crystal,I also moved back to the push mower a few years back, so glad I did for all the reasons you mention. When I see Clematis armandii in the garden centres I am often tempted, I suspect it may struggle to get through the Winter here.

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  10. I thought so too, which is why I planted it under the protection of a berberis. But it survived the recent severe winters unscathed, and there's no stopping it now, until I get the secateurs out that is.

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  11. I'm a big fan of push mowers. They also eliminate noise, pollution, and running costs.

    I used to use a small Qualcast. It's very popular and does the job.

    Last year I upgraded to a Brill (only available through Amazon). More expensive than the Qualcast, but it is amazing to use. It's even easier to push, and completely silent in operation.

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    1. I'm using a Qualcast. As you say, it does the job.

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    2. I'm using a Qualcast. As you say, it does the job.

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