With filming of the next Harlan Coben drama taking place in Heaton Park blocking the original location, we focused on some of the beds near the Stables Cafe to provide a bit of maintenance.

Ella from the park had the tools and gloves, while Ben & Juno brought some GoodGym muscle to target any weeds with a particular focus on the large amount of thistle that had taken over.

Ripping out the thistle proved fruitful given the dry soil, while the sticky willy (Galium aparine) came along with it. With each wheelbarrow load of weeds, we made steady progress in the late morning sunshine, making sure to top up the sun cream too.

2 hours of aggressive weeding produced a sizeable pile of weeds that will breakdown over time. By the end, we were covered in seeds and bits of plants but was certainly worth it given the progress made.