Watch it come down!

When we moved here eight years ago the garden was absolutely packed with plants. This magnolia was squeezed between other plants and had been forced to grow up to get the light. We removed plants as soon as we could to give it more space, but it was too late for it to get a more balanced shape.

OB has been meaning threatening to take off the top of the magnolia for a while and today was the day! Meanwhile I did a load of other pruning - this is the first time this year I've felt like working in the garden and I was a whirling dervish!

After lunch we walked over to the vineyard and had tea there. I had a scone with an indecent quantity of jam and cream. On the other hand I had not eaten a roast lunch first.