Old Pig Paddock

I still can't quite believe how big an area the pigs cleared for us - though having them 2-3 weeks longer than anticipated, and that period turning wet, certainly helped with the earth shifting...

The area nearest is beside our 'orchard', from which we've removed some dead trees, and have some replacement heritage trees arriving at some point - we've sown some yellow rattle on the earth here, which should suppress the grass more, and allow other wildflowers to colonise, and then bring in the pollinators. 

The blue tarp is in place for some more direct grass suppression, and we'll get a proper agricultural cover which will have holes cut into it to try growing flowers for cutting (I've got dahlias which I'll be starting in the polytunnel at the weekend, and if I can propagate some then I'll give them a go here as well).

Then the rest is basically an experiment to see how quickly the grass comes back to its former self (we'll randomly sow some wildflowers packets that came free with a few dahlia tubers last year, but it's likely the grass will stop them taking hold, but it's all worth trying to see what will work!).

The effect of lighter nights - spring around the corner, plans being formulated, excitement at what might happen (and worry that nothing will work).