Well over a month since the last post which reflects that the avalanches at work kept on coming right up until the end of term. Have had a week’s holiday now and part of it has been spent trying to get some order into the plot which was being overwhelmed, in places, by determined docks and sharp nettles. It is always tempting to only pick out the lovely bits in pictures; the fact that parts of the plot have been permanently out of control has mostly been cropped out over the last ten months of tracking its progress, but here for some truth and accuracy is what it looked a while before we tackled the  weed thugs:

Weeds pushed themselves energetically, through and at the edges of the cardboard mulch and black fabric paths, but Charles Dowding’s  no dig layering of cardboard and compost definitely helped keep the weaker weeds down. If I had finished the job by applying a thick layer of compost it would have been even better.

No gloves could protect against the nettle stings which beaded my arms up and down and didn’t disappear for a few days, but it was worth it as we cleared a bed for the dahlias which had been waiting patiently in their pots for weeks.

Dahlias in a mostly weed free bed

They won’t produce much this year as they were put in too late, but looking forward to seeing masses of clashing colours next summer. This one below and the bright, shocking pink of Hillcrest Royal should sing out.

Glowing orange dahlia – lost the name tag…

Two more partially mulched beds left to properly weed, before most of the plot will be up and running or at least ready to run.