Martin's New Garden

I wish I had your energy Martin - it's making me feel inspired! I struggle with the digging bit I have to chip at it little at a time. I'll just do an hour this morning

More digging today! I've now got the area behind the greenhouse ready for planting.

   

I've now more or less decided to grow mostly veg in this area, with just a meter or so of decorative stuff next to the lawn. Why have plans if you're not going to change them, that's what I think.

That's why I don't make "real" plans.
I see the Boys have moved to a semi-detached. Very nice.

Right, it's time to sort the shed out. I've replaced a broken hinge on the door, but the roof needs a little work.

When I took the ivy off, the felt came with it.

   

Anyway, I've bought some boards and cut them to size. Also a roll of felt and some clouts. So, next fine day when I'm not golfing, it'll get sorted.

Then it'll just be the holes in the sides to fix. And maybe the floor. Needs to be done before spring comes!

OK we had a dry, calm day today so I put the new boards on the shed roof and put new felt on.

   

Now I can sweep it out and patch up the sides and floor. Soon-ish.

Yesterday I got out into the garden for the first time this month!

There's an old path that crosses the back garden, of which nothing remains except two lines of curb stones. So yesterday I dug up one of the lines of stones and stacked them with slabs I dug up last year. I'm getting quite a selection!

In the picture you can just see the other line, to the left of my excavations. It's supposed to be dry again tomorrow so maybe I'll manage to get that dug. The stones don't fit in the layout I'm gradually developing in my head, so they've got to go. Maybe I can re-use some of them as a base for another shed or a seating area down the bottom of the garden under the trees...

         

Also yesterday I got the little chainsaw out and cut down three straggly apple trees. I don't know what they were - maybe seedlings from the big tree - but the fruit wasn't worth eating. I've left a couple of feet of trunk on each of them for now, because I am thinking of digging out the roots.

   

It's frustrating that I haven't been able to get on with things for the last couple of weeks, there's loads to do and spring will be here soon! Even worse, we are currently living in a building site, with a full re-wire going on at the same time as a new kitchen build. Mutter mutter grumble grumble.

It was a lovely day here today, lots of nice warm sunshine.

I finished digging up the old path!

   

Then I mowed the lawn, first time this year. And weeded the bed with wallflowers, sweet williams and daffodils. Spring is coming!

Yesterday I finished shredding a privet mountain that I built from the hedges at either side of my back garden. My huge compost bins are now almost full of shreddings. I might just give them a few weeks to go brown then spread them around the garden to make room for some green stuff.

The hedges look a bit sorry at the moment, but should green up in a couple of weeks...

       

Today I dug up a strip of front lawn at the boundary with my next door neighbour, put in a little picket fence and planted a line of seven Iceberg roses. They should look lovely come the summer, even though it's a north facing front garden. Now I'm thinking of what to underplant them with. Geranium Rosanne is current favourite, although I might go for some cyclamen instead?

   

How about Tete a Tete daffs between the Geraniums for early colour?

Alliums...,I love Roses and alliums.