Water, water everywhere

I noticed relaying some stones in our ponds' department a couple of weeks ago at reference 1 and they have been completely under water ever since. With excess water draining down the side of the path, onto the back patio behind the garage and from there to the drain which leads to the soakaway under the back lawn.

All in all, the wettest spell we have had for a very long time. Probably since I extended the path up to the brick compost heap at the very back of the garden, which last was waterlogged for the first few springs that we were here, back in the early 1990's. And the council slabs, laid on a modicum of sand, have done well. They have not moved and they are very rarely very wet - as they are just presently. And they have made the brick walks, which have proved convenient during lockdown, possible. See, for example, reference 2.

In fact, there are patches of standing water all over the back garden, including in the depressions in which I planted a couple of yew bushes - depressions which were intended to provide some protection against the long hot summers we have been having. Yew bushes which replaced the box bushes taken down by the caterpillars, with the remnants visible above Polly's new picnic table top right. Some carex pendula coming along top left. And the stump of the large yew bush I chopped down, perhaps ten years ago, to give the now dead box bushes a bit more space and light.

And to the right of the stump, celandines just starting to come up, visible if you click to enlarge. Not a very good show last year, perhaps we will do better this. They can look very well, a regular splash of yellow.

Jagged wire above to stop the foxes digging up the newly planted yew bushes. It could probably come down now, although it might be a bit of a deterrent generally. The three half inch steel stakes around the nearer bush probably inherited from my parents. They have lasted well.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/01/stones.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/09/series-3-episode-vii.html. I feel sure that there is something more recent, but I have not been able to put my hand on it. Yet.