Day Twelve - Clearing the weed from the pond and garden
Lots of work in the garden today including weeding, especially getting rid of the goose grass or bobby button as we call it and clearing the weed from the pond.
Paul used the rake gently to pull out the weed onto the side
It is left there for quite a while so that any small creatures can make their way back into the pond. It is then sorted through to take out any water snails or anything else that remains in there. We saw one frog under the water lily leaves. We didn't see any newts though.
There
always used to be newts in the pond and I was hoping to see one but no
luck this time I'm afraid. We often find them in the log pile or under
the water butt both quite a distance from the pond.
I've just been back outside to see if the cooling rain had encouraged anything to the surface, but the only movement in the pond was the whirls caused by drips from the overhanging tree.
By the time I'd pulled out loads of the goose grass from in the holly hedge and from behind some of the plants - it was choking a clematis and a Rose of Sharon - my arms were stinging and itchy.
I decided to look up goose grass as I knew little of it except that we used to have great fun as children sticking it onto each others' backs. I expect 'bobby button' is a colloquial term I picked up as a child. It is most commonly known as Cleavers but also as clivers, catchweed, stickyweed, robin-run-the-hedge, grip grass and sticky willow to name but a few.
So that was my Day twelve - how did your day go?
I decided to look up goose grass as I knew little of it except that we used to have great fun as children sticking it onto each others' backs. I expect 'bobby button' is a colloquial term I picked up as a child. It is most commonly known as Cleavers but also as clivers, catchweed, stickyweed, robin-run-the-hedge, grip grass and sticky willow to name but a few.
So that was my Day twelve - how did your day go?
I had a busy day and have had a bad headache all day so my Day 12 hasn't been great! Looking forward to a lie in tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteI know it as goose grass, that's what I've always called it and I didn't learn it was also called cleavers until I an adult! It's called cleavers because it cleaves itself on to passers by. There's an account somewhere of a lady from Staffordshire who used to make goose grass beer with it! It was known as Granny Holden's Pop! The roasted seeds can be used as coffee and shepherds used to use the leaves and stems to strain hairs from milk - using the barbed stems as a rough sieve! I learned all of this a few weeks ago on the wildflower course I went on with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and Debbie Alston.
The pond is looking good after that bit of maintenance!
Super pond Rosie, looks like you've been busy today.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to see if I have goose grass in my garden. I suspect I have! x
ReplyDelete