Cutting back rhododendron above Roeburnscar in January

the new growth being hacked

Nick Adam Rod

Healthy diverse woodland --plenty of holly

The woodland on the farm is subject to rhododendron invasion and  has to be culled as humanely as possible! It is not native to Britain and doesn't allow for any diversity of plants  underneath the lovely gnarled branches which admittedly make lovely dens to hide in. Using the biodynamic system and working with it's calendar Rod chooses the best days to cut back the new growth . Having done this for a few years now he can compare the growth of  shoots controlled on biodynamic days to those that were cut  any time and  the results definitely show that the former don't have such vigorous regrowth.

Above is a photo of old Backsbottom Farmhouse ( not the original farmhouse)....the only one I can find in fact before the flood in 1967

Personal accounts of Alice and Bill Brown's terrifying ordeal as they survived the impact of the flood water hitting the house can be found in the book Wray Flood and Wray and District Remembered (both in our bookcases at Roeburnscar). Rod is researching the causes of flooding (river restoration blog)