4th time we have “Trädkompaniet” here, this time they opened up the back by sawing down a bushy hazel bush and an ornamental lilac. They also removed dead branches from our old apple tree, rejuvenated the lilac bushes at the front and trimmed the spirea hedge by the driveway. Very good, fast and smooth, I must say! 
The next step will be to dig out the back, fill with new topsoil and create a new planting, probably with berry bushes.
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Wildlife pond looking very wild,
Can’t see on pics but lots of flying insects around,
They are camera shy, just fly off no respect for the guy that gave them somewhere to live in the first place, 
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That duck weed gets everywhere - I bought a small pack a few years ago for some reason (as cover for frogs I suspect), but it probably affects the oxygen forming pond weeds and seems to appear anywhere there is stagnant water in the garden.
My makeshift ponds also have awful filamentous algae smothering the pond weeds. We’ve had loads of hover flies for many years which are nice to see but their larval forms tend to get laid in very poor quality water. The larvae are bizarre.
Does anyone have experience growing daikon radish/mooli?
I saw a few tempting recipes some months back and although I seem to recall them being in our supermarkets a few years ago they don’t seem to be now.
Purchased some young plants in the garden centre a few weeks ago and have moved the seedlings to larger pots with a view to plant in a raised bed or large containers. Probably too late as they have now bolted with long stems and lovely flowers.
I read the leaves and flowers are edible, and trying a few leaves they’re quite tasty.
I’m good at buying seedlings/young plants but not so good at planting them out.
Rather impressed how celery and leak seedlings I bought last year have survived and are actually developing into something edible this year.
Can’t remember the names but I have but 2 native oxygen generatering plants in there,( under water ones)
Also put in 10 pond snails that like to eat a lot of algee and doing a stand up job,
The duck weed Evey now again I get the net a take some of it out,
Also got 2 water butts near buy to put water in when lack of rain,
The pond is about 18” deep and I can see about 12” down, lots newts but they are camera shy aswell
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Yes I grew them a few years ago. Lovely vegetable to use. Mooli and radish are not that easy to grow. You’d think they would be, but they’re not. If they get stressed (in horticulture, usually by drought) they bolt. They’re sensing a problem, so want to flower and set seed as soon as possible, to protect themselves. Constant moisture and not too much fertiliser.
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Like AndyP I bought a Makita battery powered lawn mower. I didn’t do much research beforehand and there are a couple of considerations which, had I been aware, may have steered me in a slightly different direction.
The model I got is quite large and takes four batteries, only two of which can be used at a time - there is a manual switch to change between the two pairs. The mower weighs in excess of 50kg which is a considerable lump and, whilst it does have power drive, I suspect that eats up the battery capacity too much.
I thought that a battery is a battery is a battery and bought some generic batteries off Big River. Boy did I get that wrong! I later bought Makita batteries which transformed the performance of the mower. I had no idea that there could be such a massive difference between units with the same declared power rating. Lesson learned!
My total plot is approximately 1 acre and I suspect about half of that is grassed, perhaps a little less. The large bottom back lawn, despite my efforts with a scarifier this spring, remains populated with moss and sits on a slight slope. I mention this because the moss creates a deep pile carpet effect which makes it difficult to push the mower over and it is hard work for the batteries. I will have another go this autumn with a heavier duty scarifier which will hopefully improve matters. As it currently stands, a petrol powered mower would be much better suited to the task. The point of this paragraph is to suggest worth considering what condition your lawn is in and how much effort will be needed to cut the grass.
The batteries are the same as used in other Makita tools and I do find that useful - I have a hand chain saw which has been put to prolific use this year. I do wonder though if using these batteries for a large heavy lawn mower is pushing the boundaries a bit too much. I recall watching a group review on YouTube of this years battery powered mowers and the Makita did not fare well, the batteries failing quite a bit earlier than some competitors. I also find that, unless the grass is bone dry, the Makita does not tend to fill the collection basket very well. Perhaps slightly underpowered.
The sort of comparison test I referred to above can be seen here - hopefully no rules breach as no music being played! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6x9kiF9fhU
Peter
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I still use a flymo 500XL
must be over 30years old,
It has Honda 4 stroke engine, and it eats anything in its way,
I maintain it, parts are readily available,
I personally believe that keeping old things going it’s better for the environment and less of a carbon footprint, than buying new
Then making rechargeable batteries,
Not going into the process but it’s not good, lithium and cobalt extraction,
Then you got hard plastic mouldings that make up what ever tool you are using, also made from oil,
He is a picture of inside your makita battery
Keep the old stuff going,
Reject new where ever possible,
I’ll take a picture of the beast later
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My dad has almost the same, he’s done the mowing last week at my place 
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Do you cut back your lavender at the end of the season Bruss? We’ve lavender too, but we didn’t prune it and it looks ugly at the moment.
When it’s happy (cool, damp and not too bright) mint grows like the clappers.
It’s best to snip it back regularly to get fresh new growth. The new growth will have the best flavour.
If you give it feed with something like Miracle Gro every week or so during the growing season will encourage it more. M-Gro is quite high in nitrogen which will increase leaf production.
After it flowers, cut it all back to about 2"
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We, well Mrs Bruss, cuts it back when the flowers finish. We haven’t tried a hard prune yet but it is advised every couple of years. Apparently the trick is to cut back to just above any ’ woody’ stems.
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I intend to freeze a lot of the leaves but need to make some room in the deep freeze first!
Thanks for the tips. Surprisingly, and in keeping with the tips I’ve left some pots at ground level rather than high up on a shelf this year - better growth and much less damage from pests.
The tastiest mint is just starting to flower. I eat a few leaves whenever I pass the pot!
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I alway( normally) don’t cut back , I leave the seeds on the plant for the birds over winter.
Then just snap old flower heads off in Spring, this year , all is a horrific mess because of the tear in the knee
After the peritonitis ( twenty years ago this week ) it was the most physically painful experience of my life
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I hope the recovery goes well and you get back out there soon.
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Thank you, the big problem is that all the Spring preparation never happened , and kneeling down on two knees that need replacement isn’t fun
Fortunately I was able to get my crops (potatoes , dwarf beans ) into pots and my greenhouse has chillies, peppers, cucumbers and oodles of tomatoes in it .
Best wishes
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