You will recall I've been raking leaves from the hillside overlooking the pond here at Struan Farm. Part of the annual spring clean, it needs to be done so that the fallen leaves don't kill the grass entirely. One of the few downsides of having lots of deciduous trees around the property. Once everything is raked up in autumn or spring we (I) then spread paddock grass seed where required on bare ground.
Practically, what ends up happening though is when I head off to rake I tend to look around, and find other things that need attention. Yet another one of those things to which we should be paying attention. Strawberry dogwood, Cornus capitata, has now been added to the annual checklist. We've had a tree at the pond for years, planted by John's dad Maurie. It's a lovely tree, the birds love the fruit. But it's also listed in my trusty "Weed Control Handbook" as invasive.
I'd seen some rubbishy little trees growing around the native trees and flax I've planted at the pond, so finally took the time to investigate. Turns out these were shooters and/or self-seeded strawberry dogwoods, and they were taking over. Fortunately most were easy to pull out by the roots, the others were lopped off with poison gel applied to the cuts. Two days and four trailer loads later I finished the job (okay, managed to pull out a bit of blackberry by the roots too, with John's help).
I planted a few more flax in the gaps. But we'll pay attention to this from now on. It's much easier to pull out the trees when they're just starting to grow. Now, back to those leaves, no more diversions!
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