Garden Stuff

I really should go and visit Susan and Robert's garden - I mean Robert and Susan - more often. It prompted me into getting out into my sad, neglected, overgrown back yard and sorting it out. A bit!

It's only taken me two years to lay these three paving slabs. I can't think why it took so long to get motivated. It took 30 minutes, tops. I know they're not perfectly aligned or level but they'll do for now. I'll wait until we've had some weather and they've settled a bit before taking further action. If necessary. Nobody much is likely to be walking on them.

This led me to moving and making level the barbecue, which has been balanced at a very precarious angle on the unlaid slabs - probably also for two years or so. This meant, of course, that it couldn't be used.  It needs cleaning before I use it, and I need to make sure that the now rather grumpy spiders which have been living in it have moved out. I have no wish to start barbecuing spiders!

 

I've got a thyme plant on one side. I need to think about which other herbs I use a lot and put one in the empty pot on the other side. There's oregano, lemon thyme and tarragon in the box to the side. The cats' outside water bowl is underneath.

I have weeded, swept and reorganised the patio, taking away pots which had dead herbs in them. The sage plant on the coffee table is positively thriving. It was down on the ground, more or less where the barbecue is now. I don't use a lot of sage but it is a very pretty plant.

I do use a lot of parsley and there are parsley plants in the bed at the back of the photos. They're almost finished though. I need to get or sow some more. And weed that bed. It's got a random potato plant growing in it which I need to dig up before it dislodges the apple tree. Although, having said that, the apple trees, which were sticks when I planted them last autumn, seem to be thriving.

I really should have taken a "before' shot before I embarked on the back yard. It's almost unrecognisable. For a start off, I have cut the grass. Twice! I have sorted out the bed on the right of the photo, which is where the wizened potatoes are. The grey "fence" is to stop the cats digging it all up. The boxes on the left of the photo will be moved round the back in the autumn or winter. The nearer box is actually empty. It's got my fruit trees in pots, waiting to be planted in the potato bed, which will then become a fruit and flower bed. The bed at the very back is next on my list to sort out. It has lemon trees, and gooseberry and black currant bushes in it. The rhubarb plant and blueberry bushes will also go in there, when they die back in the winter and I can move them from their current location. In the meantime, the weeds and the grass are having a fine old time.

It is, of course, a work in progress. Gardens are always works in progress. But my guess is that this is probably the best it's going to look. Until I next visit Susan and Robert's garden. Ot they come to visit mine 😂