next question; what are these?

[Playduh]

I'm not planning on making this a habit, promise!

Cyclamen probably( with ivy round the edges)

Yep. Cyclamen.

Yes - the seed pods of cyclamen. In due course, the stem of each pod will go thin and curly. Then, when they are ripe, the capsule will open, and sticky, triangular seeds will come out.

To grow more cyclamen, don't 'plant' the seeds, but just scatter them on bare soil, wherever you want them.

We have literally thousands!

Thank you. Found them under a load of ivy.

The ivy is taking forever to cut back though

Courage playduh you'll get there . Have you tried pulling at the ivy and getting as much as you can up that way ?

Your garden looks like mine with ivy at all the edges . One thing I've learnt is that it's easier to do big jobs like ground clearance /getting rid of ivy when the ground is damp .In autumn or winter ,it's really hard attempting it when the weather is good and the ground is baked hard .I'm on clay !

I'm such a slow learner ,and if I there's a wrong way to do things ,I'll find it !!!

Ooooh you are so lucky to have cyclamen seeding in your garden! Such lovely plants.

Yes, found wetting the ground first is making it easier. Also on clay. I've been watching How To Be A Gardener youtube videos so I now know twice as much as I did last week :)

The house did belong to a self proclaimed garden designer so I'm very much of the belief I need to learn a bit so I don't fuck up good work. Some of it is very beautiful but she decided to take quite a bit with her so I need to get the maintenance done and then work out what to put in the holes.