Why are moles so good at hiding?

Last month saw the start of a new gardener to replace Richard, who had left to set up his own business. Chris started at the beginning of September and was thrown straight into the hedge cutting. And not just any old easy hedge, but the West Border crennellations...the ones that go up and down, and have a ditch to one side. It was a bit mean but Chris rose to the challenge admirably. It takes between 4 and 6 weeks to cut all the hedges at Spetchley and can be monotonous, so I have also been trying to ring the changes a little and mix up the jobs.

Last week Chris helped Debbie for a couple of days to sort out the new planting for the South Border where we had removed all the plants to try and eliminate ground elder and bindweed from the area. Well, we are now planting up and although a few small pernicious weeds are still showing, they are weak enough to be eradicated before the new planting becomes too large. A blog reader from Germany has suggested a specific control method which we are looking into. We will soon be taking the next section of border out, ready to repeat the process.

The damp, warm weather has also meant a lot of grass cutting, and the emergence of mole hills all over the gardens, in places I have never seen them before. This is particularly frustrating as I have limited sucess with mole traps. If anyone has a tried and tested method of mole control I would love to hear from you.

Isabelle Roberts, and her daughter Mary have been visiting for the last couple of weeks, as part of a month holiday in England from Alberta, Canada. They have been visiting all the friends that Isabelle made during her quarter century living in Gardeners Cottage at Spetchley. It has been lovely to have them stay and we are already planning next year’s visit. When Mary called her daughter at the weekend she was told that there was 8 inches of snow! We had had a lovely sunny day at the Avoncroft museum of buildings near Droitwich. ( A facinating place, you must go). Alberta winters can get down as low as -40º c, which I don’t fancy at all.

This month’s picture shows the ‘knees’ of the swamp cyprus, slightly altered by Clive Bagley, who ran the Tea Rooms about 4 years ago. Have a really close look....

October Tasks

Prepare the garden for winter: keep drains and ponds etc free from leaves and debris, clean and store garden tools, ensure that greenhouse glass is clean, and that any shading has been replaced by insulation.
Lift dahlias after the first frosts blacken their leaves.
Order spring bulbs for next year.
Feed roses with sulphate of potash to ripen the wood and make the plants more disease resistant.
Check tender plants for infestations of insects, and treat before returning them to their winter quarters.
Put frost protection round any plants that will be staying out for the winter.
Store undamaged apples and pears in a cool, dark well ventilated room such as a garage or garden shed.
Take hardwood cuttings of deciduous shrubs, and gather clematis seed for sowing in a cold frame.
place netting over ponds to catch leaves.
Change the plantings in hanging baskets for winter interest.
lift and divide herbaceous perennials.