The message
from Maggie contains these words:

Location Wellington NZ, so climate very similar to Cornwall. Hope you
don't mind me invading your neck of the woods, but ours is a bit quiet


We've got quite a few areas of our section that have become overgrown
due to neglect, so with an Antipodean winter looming, I'm keen to get
stuck in and start tidying up some of it.

First up is a sloping bit that the previous owners had as lawn - I have
no idea why.

Were they Scots? It suggsts to me that they might have been
sportspeople, and indulged in the winter sport of Haggis Howking [1] or
Cairngorm Croquet. [2]

It's not a large area, but it's the first bit you see as
you come down our path (and steps) to the house.

I take it you're not into Highland sports?

You could replace it with some low ground cover. If the ground is
suitable, heathers and the crrepier sort of blaeberries and cranberries
might be fun.

Anyway, I want to get rid of the invasive agapanthus that lines the path
(have started that... hard work!), clear the "lawn" (now 2 foot high
with weeds aplenty) by strimming and mowing, throw on a bit of Roundup
to kill off the weeds, then prepare the (clay) soil for planting (bit of
digging and addition of compost?). I plan to plant NZ natives to keep
it fairly low maintenance. So I thought I'd do all this in preparation
for planting in spring, but now I've read that I shouldn't till a
sloping site in autumn, I guess due to erosion.

Ah. Bang goes any thoughts of heathers and the berries.

What's my best course of action? I wanted to have the area cleared by
spring (or earlier) for planting, and with a young baby, don't have huge
amounts of time, so hoped to spend a few hours each weekend working away
on it, but do it properly. I'm keen, but very much a novice, so all and
any suggestions most welcome!

Babies can be admirably destructive, you know. Have you thought of
tethering him/her in a different spot each day?

Really, it's a bit late for Roundup, as it's at its best when the target
is growing vigorously. I know someone with a flame-thrower and an
enthusiastic seven-year-old, but it's a bit far, even for them.

It's like the old bloke asked for directions: "Ar, well, if Oi were
gooing there, Oi wuddn't staart from here, see?"

I think you might have to continue as you are and be patient about
deploying the WMD.

[1] Haggis Howking: where the object of the sport is to sweep down a
slope on skis, and extract the haggis from its burrow in a single
movement with a Howkin' Pole, en passant.

[2] Played on a slope with the usual equipment, the only difference
being that the balls are cuboid. This is said to be because it's a long
way down Cairn Gorm, and spherical balls tend to go the distance.

--
Rusty
Open the creaking gate to make a horrid.squeak, then lower the foobar.
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