Working off the Christmas pud! - 15 Dec 15

   Paddling in the mud...  clearing the dead Dahlia stems and mulching over the tubers to protect them from the cold.  We leave the tubers in the ground as they generally do quite well as long as we don't get too much wet and cold weather.  This year we found ourselves using 4 kinds of mulch materials!  It is a case of using what we have to hand, so sheets of cardboard held down by pallets...  sheepswool spread over the crowns of the plants...  cardboard with a covering of leaf mould...  and old carpet.  An interesting patchwork over the beds.
Another job for the day - planting out wallflowers.  Raised in pots and growing healthily, normally they would have gone in in the Autumn, but the mild weather is very forgiving!