I probably should be waiting until tomorrow to write this post as we have a three-day weekend but I am a creature of habit and Sunday evenings have now become the time I review the garden over the last week.
For someone who is naturally self-effacing I find it hard to say that I am quite proud of the garden at the moment but it is true. There was a moment this afternoon as the sun shone down through the branches of the Prunus, highlighting the blossom and glancing off the narcissus below when I was thrilled with the effect. After the last few years of just seeing what is wrong with the garden this was quite a revelation.
We have made huge progress on both the major projects this weekend and my body is certainly making me aware of the effort that has been made. The projects are interlinked and one is dependant on another. I have to admit that agreeing to my eldest having a workshop in the garden has had the unexpected benefit of him being keen to help me lift the back lawn. I need somewhere to move all the plants from the workshop site and so the majority are moving into the new bed – when its dug. The head turf lifter and border digger has worked very hard and we, should I say he, has lifted three-quarters of the turf. I have followed behind and second dug adding green waste compost. I have to admit to having a real wobble on Thursday evening when the work started. I don’t do mess very well and I felt quite overwhelmed by the impending chaos but we sat down and worked out a plan and it has been great. Working systematically across the back lawn as made it more mentally manageable for me and I have already moved the viburnum and rose (with its accompanying obelisk) that needed moving as well as some other plants.
I have to admit that the weather isn’t ideal for plant moving and the ground is a bit dry but we have rain forecast later in the week so hopefully if I can cosset them over the next few days they will pull through OK. There was no real alternative as they have to move and we didn’t want to wait until Autumn to put the workshop in. You can see in the photo above that we have left a grass path. There is still the bit of lawn that runs down the garden to be lifted, although my son tried to convince me we should leave it as it was just the right size for sun-bathing – he even demonstrated!! However, he agrees that we need to lift it all so that may get done tomorrow. My job tomorrow will be working through the slope removing plants I don’t want and then moving those from the slope part of the workshop site across. The workshop will mean that my daisy slope will be halved but I am content with that as I have gained so much more border to play with.
After this weekend I should be able to concentrate on normal gardening as the majority of the heavy plant moving will have been done. My son has declared that he is going to finish clearing the workshop site so I don’t need to worry about that which is a relief. I also managed to find a bit of time to stake the Delphinium which is a first as they normally get staked once they are too tall and it is all a bit closing the door after the horse has bolted.
I think this is the first year when I have really enjoyed working in the garden. I am more confident with following my instinct and more aware of what is around me and what needs doing. The word ‘bench’ has been mentioned a lot today as we need to have another one further up the garden. It will be incorporated into the workshop site and it will be wonderful to have somewhere to sit, aside from the steps, to enjoy the garden.
