What did you do in your garden today?

[Rajesh Sethi]

Northern side of AP, near to coast

 

[alp]

mown 4/5 of the lawn and shredded all my red hot poker leaves and some cistus pruned materials. Getting a bit fed up with cistus as they are sprawling and the main stems become thick and hard very quickly.

 

[Vishu1708]

Northern side of AP, near to coast

Okay..... i was asuming malabar or konkan coast.......
north AP is the coromandal coast, right?

 

[Colin]

Hi,

This morning disappeared in a blink; I wandered up the rear garden to attack the Snowberry stumps knowing I was in for a lot of hard graft; looking at the job I was at first rather puzzled where to start; wet English Ivy was covering the ground and the Snowberry stumps were also joined by other assorted stumps. As I stabbed the spade in for the first time it rattled my teeth as it hit a big stone full on; eventually I found some soil and started to thrust the spade through the ivy but it was hard going; I then collected the rake from the hut and rived at the ivy with the rake which worked quite well ripping lots of the ivy away thinning it right down. At around 9:30 I came down for a brew then feeling much better I resumed work.

Having now made a bit of progress in opening an entrance I got stuck in; lots of big stones were found; the soil is riddled with roots some from the nearby laurels; some of the smaller stumps I physically ripped from the ground but the bigger stumps were much more difficult; using my 5' long very heavy crow bar certainly helps in levering these stumps out but its incredibly hard work. Thinking it must now be around 10:30 and ready for another brew I wandered down to the bungalow and was amazed to find it was now 11:50; after a quick brew I removed another few stumps before calling it a do feeling very tired; a heavy mornings work just to regain a six foot square of our garden leaving two piles of debris; given the length of garden if I work half a day for the next six days I should clear these Snowberry stumps.

This afternoon I've cleaned and polished the Yeti ready for bird bombing practice. I'm pleased with my progress today and feel I've achieved something; one day I'll get into the garden or do a job around home that doesn't work me to a standstill but I'm not holding my breath.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Verdun]

You worked hard Colin......lots of determination
Not quite as energetic for me today.....a stint with Mind teaching horticulture to people with learning difficulties earlier. On my return a big decision???? Do I cut my lawns or go for a swim? Difficult one......very warm wall to wall sunshine again so a gorgeous day. Went for a swim.....water was pretty warm.
Still had time to cut the lawns when I got back so making full use of the weather.
Expected plants did not arrive so maybe tomorrow

 

[zigs]

Today I have been mostly raking leaves ...

 

[Verdun]

I'll get my coat Zigs

 

[Colin]

Hi,

You must find it a rewarding job teaching those with learning difficulties Verdun; such people and those who are disabled tend to be shunned by society when in fact many of these people are nicer to know than so called normal people.

Go for a swim or mow the lawn wouldn't be a choice for me because I can't swim but I can mow lawns. Hopefully by now your plants will have arrived. On Monday I bought 250 plant pots through eBay and WOW I received a message to say they would be delivered on Tuesday but if this wasn't convenient I could change delivery day; Bron and I were booked in for eye tests on Tuesday so I changed delivery day to Wednesday; the plant pots arrived late Thursday afternoon. 250 plant pots for £15.95 delivered; I'm not complaining at all.

Lovely picture zigs; if I try to pile leaves here they keep getting away due to the prevailing wind coming up the valley.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Verdun]

Hiya Colin
Lost a sister aged 32 a few years back....think it "softened" me up a bit. I do feel a responsibility to try to help now. So many in need, so many cannot cope, so many to whom a listening ear could ...and does...make a difference. Yes, helping folk who maybe are a little "slow" esp with teaching how to sow seed, plant and simply explain how identify and grow things is rewarding
Just a 10 min walk to the beach so swimming is normal for me.
Yes, my plants arrived today and delighted with them.
Hey, you did well there. Sounds a bargain. I find Ebay excellent too.
Hope your recovery is going well

 

[Colin]

Hi,

I'm sorry to learn of your sister dying at such a young age Verdun; you must have felt both angry and devastated at the time. Such things happen and change our lives forever; in my biking days five of my chums got killed and I was coffin bearer for one which was a deeply moving experience. Words of sympathy always seem so shallow because death is such a final thing. I lost a knee cap and suffered a fractured ankle in 1970 when an idiot car driver hit me head on whilst I was riding my Norton 750cc Atlas; it was winter and every window on the car was iced up; the good thing about the accident is that the Norton was such a rubbish bike anyway; at 110 mph it used to shatter its piston skirts; I was a regular customer at Watson Cairns in Leeds on a Saturday afternoon to buy new pistons. I dumped the Norton and went into heavy debt buying a BMW 750cc R75/5 which was an absolutely brilliant bike; this was a year old when I bought it but after riding it for a year I traded it in for a brand new BMW clone. In 1973 there weren't the speed cameras at every street corner a nd I regularly did Wakefield to London and back in a morning down the M1. Aged 18 I was running a 1,000cc bike but fortunately I survived; Marrying my Bron was the best thing I ever did; Bron's done the ton as pillion passenger behind me just before we married. A powerful motorcycle down a winding country road on full chat is addictive and possibly why so many bikers get killed. The following video brings back many memories.

Thanks Verdun for your good wishes; when I feel up to it tend to go berserk especially whilst working outside; I was out of bed by 5:20 this morning because the first Saturday of every month is a special day for me; it's Rufforth Auto Jumble (York) day and I always attend weather permitting; I was on site bang on 7 o'clock looking for urgent items I didn't know I needed; Rufforth to us guys is rather like handbag and shoe stores to the gals; every time I attend I feel like a child in a candy store. I came away with lots of goodies this time mostly garden related; a small pickaxe; a full sized pick and a stainless steel Qualcast fork; pruning saw; boxes of wood screws and 12 rolls of black dustbin bags; Bron enjoys card making and a stall was selling padded envelopes so I bought her 50 envelopes and at another stall bought Bron two big rolls of double sided tape; The rusty chain will be very useful once its cleaned up; when I use rope whilst levering the knot is always very difficult to untie; the pictures below show a few of the items;

I've managed an hour in the rear garden this afternoon digging up more stumps and roots before my constant companion Blackie the pet cloud joined me; my theme tune is "Why does it always rain on me".

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Verdun]

Good old days Colin.....at least we like to think so
Some things made me smile.....I can identify with a lot of what you wrote.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Strange isn't it Verdun that when we look back we tend to focus on the best things but I also remember the years of real poverty.

I was amazed this morning when I got up to find the patio was dry and it wasn't raining; this is rare so I was up the top of the garden by 8:30 digging up more stumps. It felt rather cool at first so I had my big waterproof jacket on; by 9:15 I was good and hot so wandered down for a quick brew and to exchange the big jacket for my body warmer. At 10:50 another breather and a brew then a session before dinner. I've just knocked off having worked myself to a standstill and with aching arms but what a tremendous result; I never thought I'd get the lot out today in fact when I first started I thought this job is going to take a couple of weeks with a few hours each day?

Its been unbelievable the number of stumps I've dug up from this one hedge; the pictures show just how bad the job has been not only the stumps but all the debris and masses of ivy too; I've attacked the stumps riving the smaller ones out physically the more difficult stumps have been either dug out or levered out with the long very heavy crow bar but I was determined to crack on whilst this special dry day was here to make the most of it.

I've never composted before but the smaller material I separated into a big pile and I've soaked this with the watering can then put a tarpaulin over the pile weighted at the top with stones; the picture of the other pile shows some of the stumps and since taking the picture the stump pile is now much bigger.

Although I feel tired out I feel good and have enjoyed today grafting in the garden in total peace; my aim is to remove everything I don't want then I can sit back and do some planning; once the hard part is over then I can take it a lot easier but I'm enjoying being in the garden.

I've still a few more stumps to remove and I also want to get rid of the ivy before it really does get out of hand and start to cover the laurels.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[Colin]

Hi,

Just a quick update. I spent all morning struggling whilst digging up masses of roots and stones; it sure is tiring work but enjoyable. I've already got one pile composting under the tarpaulin now the second pile is going ballistic; I shredded the hedge just leaving 6" tall stumps and these two big piles are only part of the stumps and roots I'm digging up; I've just moved all the stones to tidy them up out of the way.

A lot more yet to do.

Kind regards, Colin.

 

[MoonShadows]

Finished fermenting tomato seeds from this year's crop for planting next Spring. They are now in the bay window in my living room on coffee filters drying out...along with dried flowers from which I plan to harvest seeds.

 

[DeborahJane]

Hi,

Good luck with your echium Deborahjane.

Yesterday morning I managed to shred the pile of brash from the Snowberry hedge but had to work like someone possessed starting at 8:15 and done by 10:15 just as the heavy rain hit us; I had been working in horizontal drizzle brought up the valley on the strong wind so I was pleased to get this job out of the way but I then needed to spread the pile of shredded material which was receiving a good soaking.

I thought I was dreaming and had awoken in another country as I looked out of the kitchen window first thing this morning; the patio was almost dry and it wasn't raining; WOW.

This afternoon I used this shredded material to mulch the newly planted garden area by the new hut; I was very surprised by how dry the shredded material was considering the soaking it received yesterday; there was just enough and once it turns dark brown it will look good whilst suppressing weeds; retaining ground moisture and preventing soil erosion on the steep site and of course it cost me nothing. Today has been wonderful apart from the usual strong wind; a bit of sunshine is good for the soul.

Yesterday was a black hole but today has been much brighter and this is clearly seen in the picture quality.

Kind regards, Colin.

View attachment 28092 View attachment 28093

Sounds exhausting but well worth it Colin. Very satisfying