March / April 2020

These are very strange times with most of the population under lock down. Fear and uncertainty of what lies ahead is causing so much stress and anxiety people are turning to all sorts of new hobbies to relieve boredom and distract their mind, knitting, baking, DIY, Jigsaws etc .

Obviously, I think top on everyone’s list of hobbies should be gardening. There has never been a better time to get yourself outside in the sunshine, absorb some vitamin D and take your daily exercise without the worry of social distancing rules. There is no excuse not to have a lovely garden with all this spare time on your hands, and the physical and mental benefits are sure to lift your spirits. Plus you will be creating a welcoming space to sit and while away the long hours we still have ahead of us under lock down.

Paul and I are keeping our social distance by working separate days, so if you were wondering why you saw me working on the weekend, you know why.

We have had the hottest April on record which although great for the suntan and lifting the mood, it has not been good for the establishment of all the new plants that we have planted over the winter. This is a first for me, having to drag out the hose pipes in April, thank goodness for rain at last.
The one thing guaranteed to grow rain or shine are the weeds and having been off work for a while, I’m afraid they have got the better of us. It’s a constant battle as many have flowered and popped their seed already so thousands more weed seedlings will be germinating over the weeks ahead.

It’s just like this covid pandemic, unless you nip the problem in the bud things soon escalate out of control. This seems to be happening on front lawns this year with massive crops of dandelions so please be neighbourly by keeping your grass cut regularly and dig out the lawn weeds before they seed everywhere or treat them with a selective weed killer that does not kill the grass.
A big job we have ahead of us is repairing the amphitheatre. Those pesky Daddy Long Legs (That’s putting it very politely!) must have had a party on our amphitheatre at some point as the leatherjacket damage has devastated the grass. Interestingly though the Daisies are not affected so I assume they must have bad tasting roots.
Anyway, no good dwelling, what’s happened has happened so, It’s time to do something about putting it right. It’s a challenge but not impossible so I have put together an action plan which is on the website notice board if you would like to know how we intend to tackle it.
It looks like the daddy long legs love Loftus as much as the rest of us and are here to stay so remember that strong healthy grass with a deep root system can cope with a bit of leatherjacket damage and the best way to achieve that is to look after your grass.
• Mow regular, at least once a fortnight and not too short.
• Feed spring, summer and autumn with an appropriate feed for time of year,
• Treat leatherjackets with nemitodes spring and autumn.
• Treat moss with moss killer and rake out when dead
• kill those big lawn weeds such as Dandelions, Docks and Thistles. Dig out by hand or use a selective weed killer meant for lawns that doesn’t kill grass.
• Re seed bare patches in spring and autumn and spike the lawn all over with a garden fork to aerate.
• Water thoroughly when needed but not too often, roots need to be trained to go down in search of moisture. Far too often people mistakenly water little and often, this creates a shallow root system that can’t cope with any stress.
Follow these guidelines and you could have a lawn to be proud of.
Last summer we issued 5 Gold certificates for beautiful lawns in our garden competition which goes to show what can be done with a bit of effort.

Alternatively, if you really don’t want the work, you can put down the 80-100 plum paddle stone available from Derbyshire Agrigates in Bridgend, but please do not go ahead without permission. There is a form to fill in for alterations to your garden on My Loftus website.
It’s a shame we can’t have a garden competition again this year and it’s sad that the kitchen garden is out of bounds too but despite all the restrictions wouldn’t it be really great if folk could look back on 2020 as the year they managed to dodge the Coronavirus but got caught by the gardening bug instead !

dandelions
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