April, 2017: April Fool's Purging

April 1st/2nd, 2017

Dandelion cull day!

If there's one thing I hate with a vengeance it's dandelions! If a word could be my go-to word for an alternative swear word it is my nemesis of the garden, dandelion!

So I decided to avenge myself of the yellow perils on April Fools Day!

It's not quite as simple as pulling off the flowers, I know, as they can rejuvenate themselves from tiny fragments of the entire plant and they have the longest tap roots which can also regrow from the smallest chunk. Anyone with a foolproof recipe for a dandelion killer that doesn't involve glyphosate chemicals, please let me know. My parents drank dandelion coffee substitute for years and my brother also told me dandelion root tea is a marvellous healer - not for me, thanks!

I filled several bucketfuls today with dandelions and other weeds with similar tenacious natures and feel quite good for taking out several chunks including parts of the roots.  

Children's Sections 

My girls have decided that they want to have their own sections of the garden, so we are looking at developing little areas for them and taking up some of the football pitch we have is an easy choice for me. We got some new plants today so we have to make areas fit for planting in a few days or they might lose interest. 🙂

We might not agree on the colour schemes I would choose but again, if I want them to remain interested, I am going to have to compromise.

We have done some sweet little curved beds for the girls and planted them up with ceonothus and echinacea, agapanthus, and anemones as well as a couple of plants the girls chose whose names escape me... cone flowers? Again that  I was watching Monty Don extolling the bee friendliness of these particular plants last night makes me feel sure that my quotient of bee friendly plants v dandelion purging is at a happy medium, after another friend on Facebook directed me to a Guardian article that said we should try and keep dandelions for the amount of wildlife that rely on them.

PPS: A day has passed. A day! Already there are at least 10 dandelions in their glorious goldenness winking at me around the front and back gardens, so much for a purge. I will retreat to my chair, take off my glasses and be quite unable to see any while I rest my weary bones...