Gardening!
So being as Guy and I are not able to attend Strom this weekend, we took the plunge and I got on with "a bit of gardening work". We have done practially nothing to this poor garden for about 2 years, so of course everything is overgrown and in need of TLC. The *only* way I can deal with this kind of thing without getting overwhelmed is to break things down into chunks - so I decided to work on just the patio area and see how things went. I am happy to say that this led to about 5 hours of working in the garden, and now the patio boarders are clear, the edging has been nearly finished, the plants have been tidied, the fire circle has had weedkiller put on it and will be tidied tomorrow, the climbers have been trimmed and the raspberry canes sorted. I have also cleared out all the baby nettles! There is still a lot to do (as always), but I'm feeling pretty accomplished.
We had planned some additional jobs today, but the garden centre was closed and it started raining this afternoon. So I've spent today drafting a monthly calendar based on the plants we have in the garden and the care they need, as well as regular jobs. It's a huge amount of work initially to get organised, but it will make caring for the garden that much easier for me as I will know what I need to do when. I also think I finally have a workable plan for the front garden - it's an area that's semi-shaded and has been very difficult to maintain.
I've also been reading up on Permaculture Sheet Mulching, as I'd like to do that in the patio boarders for shade plants - the magnolia from next door, while exceedingly beautiful in Spring, is shading things too much for herbs, alas. I'm hoping maybe someone like 1ngi can give me some tips?
Tomorrow, we're moving my gorgeous clematis (in icon), in the hopes that a sunny corner will help it thrive this year; and finalising our bird feeding station. It seems the addition of a peanut feeder and fat ball feeder has made our garden popular with blackbirds, blue tits, robins, and great tits, as well as the occasional wren and thrush. Things are hung kind of haphazardly around the garden at the moment, so we want to turn the trellis that is currently in shade into a frame for bird feeders and a tray. I'm looking forward to it! It's such a luxury to be able to have time to dedicate to making my home a more beautiful and cared for place. I love having a lovely place to come home to.
We had planned some additional jobs today, but the garden centre was closed and it started raining this afternoon. So I've spent today drafting a monthly calendar based on the plants we have in the garden and the care they need, as well as regular jobs. It's a huge amount of work initially to get organised, but it will make caring for the garden that much easier for me as I will know what I need to do when. I also think I finally have a workable plan for the front garden - it's an area that's semi-shaded and has been very difficult to maintain.
I've also been reading up on Permaculture Sheet Mulching, as I'd like to do that in the patio boarders for shade plants - the magnolia from next door, while exceedingly beautiful in Spring, is shading things too much for herbs, alas. I'm hoping maybe someone like 1ngi can give me some tips?
Tomorrow, we're moving my gorgeous clematis (in icon), in the hopes that a sunny corner will help it thrive this year; and finalising our bird feeding station. It seems the addition of a peanut feeder and fat ball feeder has made our garden popular with blackbirds, blue tits, robins, and great tits, as well as the occasional wren and thrush. Things are hung kind of haphazardly around the garden at the moment, so we want to turn the trellis that is currently in shade into a frame for bird feeders and a tray. I'm looking forward to it! It's such a luxury to be able to have time to dedicate to making my home a more beautiful and cared for place. I love having a lovely place to come home to.