When I bought my house, one of the raised beds in the garden was quite full; in one corner the plum tree, in another corner a gooseberry bush, in the third corner a wild tangle of redcurrant and blackcurrant bushes, and loganberries and raspberries in the fourth corner. And soon I found out that, in order of appearance, I really liked the plums and the gooseberries, I never ate the redcurrants as the birds would beat me to it, I quite liked the blackcurrants, and I didn't think the raspberries and loganberries were very good. So the first thing that change towards me ripping out the latter. But I wasn't quite happy with the uncivilised tangle of currants. And one morning, when I tried to harvest the last blackcurrants, I started cutting off the redcurrant stems. It makes sense to cut these down to make some more space for the berries I actually do eat. And if I came across a wonky blackcurrant stem I would cut that back well. I don't mind having a smaller harvest next year if it means I tidy up my raised bed a bit! And that way, I cut back almost everything. All the redcurrants were gone, and of the blackcurrant bush, only one relatively tidy bit in the back was left.
While cutting I was also harvesting. This was the last of my blackcurrant harvest! And it got mixed in with a fair amount of gooseberries, I couldn't help pulling some off.
When I was done, I looked at the results. The patch looked a lot tidier, but in a bit of a plucked chicken kind of way. I will have to ponder what step to take next. I might want to try to dig out some of the vegetation I don't want to come back. And I will have to think about what I want to be there instead. But a first step has been taken! One more step towards a garden the way I want it to be. Not that I don't enjoy it as is,; I most certainly do! But I am aware of how much work there still is to be done.
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| Before |
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| After |
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| From another angle |
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