WHAT ARE WE DOING IN THE GARDEN TODAY - 2021

As you've now had the practice you can come round and and sort out our Rosa rugosa.

We have a 20ft long bed of it and it decided some years ago that it would do its best to send me away in tears if I tried to prune it. I now use long handled loppers. They're well established after being there 65 years.

 

We haven't done a lot in the garden over the last few days as we are hors de combat from overdoing the cutting back and weeding.

Mrs Shiney has restricted herself to watering the greenhouse, pots and nursery beds (1-2 hours a day) and maintaining the plants in the greenhouse. I've mainly been harvesting (about an hour per day) and thinking about other jobs I can avoid doing. Although I mowed one of the lawns (slowly) yesterday.

Today I'm thinking of delving into the hidden depths of the shed to dig out an old 6ft long BBQ to convert to a potting bench for Mrs Shiney. With her knee giving her problems she can no longer do the work in her favourite position of sitting on her haunches. I don't know if it's in a condition to be used or if it's suitable At the moment it is piled high with other things I haven't thrown away . Shouldn't take me more than a couple of hours to dig out.

I also dug out a Stipa tenuissima to take to friends (went for dinner last night) to go with a boot full of other plants. They had some plants for us and picked a whole load of veggies for us.

 

We had to take down a fairly large, dead, Laburnum a couple of years ago. We sold the wood to a couple of wood turners. Apparently it is worth good money to the right people and they seemed to jump at the price. Got over £100. It was "can we pick it up now?" as though they didn't want anyone else to get it.

 

Yesterday it took me five quite hot hours to do the bulk of tidying up in the shed with probably another couple of hours to go. Some idiot seems to have decided to store lots of things that are totally useless!

Now I have to find people who are looking for some of my salvageable rubbish. A lot has filled our black bin and some is on the bonfire heap. There are actually a few good things that are no longer of use to me such as DIY stuff. I don't know why I ever got them in the first place . Why would I want a pack, unopened, of screws and lugs for corrugated plastic? Also a whole kit (a nice one) of heavy duty screw in hooks and clamps for hanging garden tools when my shed is a metal one!

There is now a stack of wooden boards/shelving (where did they come from? ) and lots of old garden tools. I also found a very large bow saw that I definitely didn't buy!

None of these could have been left by a previous owner as I bought the shed new. I can only think that they have been given to me by people who bring things saying I could sell this when we open the garden for charity. I've done that with brand new wheelbarrows and a large garden trolley

 

I never do DIY unless in an emergency . My two screwdrivers, a hammer and a spanner have been all I've needed since the war. That's what the servants are for.