Last year, my garden was totally neglected due to my hip problems so now I have to get the garden back under control!  Obviously the structure is still there – a year isn’t enough for nature to totally take over, but oh boy have many of the plants had a field day :). There is a saying that a weed is just a plant in the wrong place – well, I have a lot of weeding to do.

Muehlenbeckia complexa

One plant that is only now mature enough to need confining to its allotted space is on called Muehlenbeckia complexa.  When I last opened the garden, a number of people asked the name of it and it certainly is very dainty and fills it’s allocated spot beautifully.  But if only I had looked in Wikipedia and seen its common names, I might have been more wary as they include maidenhair vine, creeping wire vine and lacy wire vine.

Before weeding

As I worked my way around the garden, clearing one area at a time, I made great progress until I came to the area by the pond where the Muehlenbeckia complexa is planted.  I realised that it had decided to make an airborne attack on the hydrangea next to it, but I was not anticipating what I found at ground level.  Along the wall and at the path edge, I found what looked like a bundle of wires.  The bundle must have been at least 4 inches in diameter and probably contained well over 100 “wires”.  Luckily, they hadn’t made too many attempts to root and so could be removed, but it did take quite a while.

Hydrangea returned to its fan shape and Muehlenbeckia complexa controlled – for now!

Once that was done, then I could get on with my planned job of fan pruning the hydrangea.  I really like this way of pruning them, which I first saw at an office I was working at, as allows the hyrdangea to fit into a narrow space and also add a structural element.

So, that is it for this weekend.  The clocks have gone forward and gardening begins again in earnest :).