Bramble Slaying.

The weather in the U.K. is very wet at the moment. I was told not to cut my overgrown bramble bush in damp weather, but if I don't, they grow back fast. The root balls of the bramble are more challenging to get out in dry weather because my soil compacts and becomes so dry that you can't cut through it with a spade.

Bramble root balls are more straightforward to dig out in damp weather, especially if your soil is like mine.

While in the garden slaying today's brambling mission, which was to chop down as much as possible and get out as many root balls as I could, I spent at least twenty minutes digging out this giant root ball below.

This root ball was poking out of the top of the soil, and it was solid. I had to use two different spades to dig around it, plus my root slayer spade to dig it up.

This job would have been more challenging to pull out in dry weather because it grew in a very concrete section of the soil.

Even a pick-axe doesn't cut some areas of my soil.

To access the bottom of the root, I had to dig deeper than usual. I dug a trench around it with my garden fork, broke the roots with my root breaker, and dug it out with my trustworthy pointed spade

Warning!

When taking down a bramble bush, it is important to rake up the leaves from the brambles and ensure that all of the small roots and shoots left in the soil are dug out, or the bush will grow back quickly.

My bramble bush grew large. There is only me who is digging it out, so I am doing it over a few days.

You can see from my picture that my entire garden needs work. I live in an old house that was neglected by the previous tenant before us. The tenant did not neglect it purposefully. She was very ill.

We live in council housing, and whilst they do their best to help us, they are struggling with costs at the moment.

Most councils are struggling today.

I live in Bournemouth, U.K. and they face many current difficulties. In normal circumstances, they would have done this for me. However, they have some other difficulties, which means they have to do things a little differently, by prioritizing needs.

Note:

There are many speculations about the council in my town that I want to clear up, and one of those is people complaining that they don't do anything to help, or keep the town maintained.

In recent times, I have gained compassion for my council. I have lived here for many years after going through very difficult times in previous towns leading to many traumas.

Bournemouth Council have made mistakes, but they have also helped me through some difficult traumas, given me a home I can finally call home and supported me through many difficulties.

They still support both myself and my husband who has disabilities. They are the friendliest council I have ever met, and whilst they can't do it all due to restricted finances, they make a lot of effort to keep the town and our homes safe and maintained.

I believe their problems are being caused by financial difficulties, not brought by themselves but by the recent government situation regarding finances.

The council have been working on our home as I speak, making it safe for my husband to continue living here.

While they can't do the gardening itself for me, they have been very friendly and supportive around me, even though they are working hard themselves. Also, they are doing a fantastic job of the job they have been tasked with, which is fitting a driveway so that my husband can get in and out of the car safely and park it without getting hurt on the road.

I am still learning to care for my garden. I am tasked with many other jobs besides the one I'm currently writing about.

I will be writing more about my journey as I work on it, so feel free to keep reading, and see how I get do!