The cosmos looks really good – lots of flowers. They’ve even managed to stay fairly upright having been staked last week.

I did some clearing up around the pond. Cutting back nettles and grass revealed a small log pile, so I’ve added more small logs to that. I took the last paddlestone off the toad hole right by the pond and re-covered that shelter with more logs. I’ve moved the paddlestone to the front ofthe pond and tried to glue it in place with molehill mud. Hopefully it’ll sit and settle.

The hornwort has sunk now, but the forget me not seems like it has started to expand again. I’ve taken out a little of the duckweed that’s growing very slowly.

I feel like the callicarpa has never really taken off – and there is no sign of berries this year. They like normal to acidic soil, so I took ⅔ bucket of oak leaves and chopped them up and mulched the plant. I dug them in a little, but didn’t want to disturb the roots.

I’ve finally mended the hedgehog house. I taped up the pecked holes, move some logs around and then covered house with the rest of the black bag of oak leaves. They were a bit wet and stuck together, so I’m hoping they might have some strength that way. I pinned some apple stick over the top as a vague deterrent for the birds who will no doubt pull the whole thing apart again. If I had some bendable chicken wire, that would be the answer.

I’ve put the last of the bark from the bag under the apple tree. What’s left in the bucket will have to go on the fern bed when the weeding is done, as a lot of that has disappeared. Happily, the weaker ferns (Dryopteris erythrosora) have started to grow again and the second in particular is showing new copper-coloured growth.

Another job that’s been on my list for ages: planting the allium bulbs from the front bed. I made a start on putting them into Bed 3 before the rain finally started later than forecast.