WARNING…..INCLUDES CONFRONTING SPIDER PICTURE!

It wasn’t until my friend  Dianne told me about her battle to get rid of ivy in her new garden that I realized my own ivy problem had become super-serious.  Stupidly, I  had deliberately  spread the variegated variety around. I’d considered it more or less benign.  Oh my hat, it had been creeping about and covering everything.

Originally  there was an old pine stump under the smaller one in the photo below.  Look….completely obliterated by ivy. This was to be my first point of attack. Could have used the tomahawk!

 

Ivy covered stump

The old stump had vanished.

Here we go….a good start.

DANGER!

I was pulling the ivy off with great energy when I was stopped in my tracks by  what  looked suspiciously like a deadly funnel web spider.  Could be the local Blue Mountains species.  He/she had emerged from its lair in the rotting wood of the old stump. It was not particularly happy about being disturbed.

 

Funnel Web spider.

Oh good grief!

We parted company, with no plans to meet again.

My project created a lot of interest.  Editor Des had his morning tea (well, chocolate milk) while supervising.  Milly kept her distance in case more funnel web spiders were lurking.

Edioe Des and the stump project.

Editor Des supervising

 

Milly watching the stump project.

Any more spideys, Milly?

The first casualty turned out to be the garden shears. I was using the blades to twist out roots and they bent! Beyond hope I fear.  The roots turned out to be Clematis Montana, so I let them stay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clematis Montana.

 

 

 

Added some wormy compost and some potting mix.  Hmm, now what could I plant?  Editor Des suggested Spider Orchids….oh the wit of that young fellow!

 

Stump project.

Ready to plant.

I’m thinking  Lithodora might be nice with the clematis.

 

Lithodora

Lithodora.

 

My husband repaired the shears. And I put in  some plants; Lithodora, Sweet Alice and Cerastium (Snow-in-Summer).

 

Stump garden

Do geese eat spiders?

Stump garden rt.

 

UPDATE – Well, despite his upheaval the spider returned a couple of weeks later and set  up home again. My associate Editor Des foolishly tried to catch him.

 

Editor Des spider fishing

Editor Des spider fishing

Of course he didn’t succeed, which was no doubt just as well.  Anyway, we have decided to just live in harmony together. I do believe Spider likes the garden I made. He extended his web with a little ‘patio’, but I haven’t spotted him using it yet. I think he might only venture  out by moonlight,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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