Claiming Back the Garden

I worked hard yesterday morning claiming back the garden.

When I left the Van back in March at the start of lockdown and the day the Park closed for the duration, the tulips were just starting to push through the soil in the corner flower beds and in the little tin bath.  The Tete a Tete daffodils that filled the planters with their bright yellow faces were a joy to see, and the little Primulas were a mass of prolific colour in the pot on the decking.

When I got back here on Saturday there was no sign of any of them ... I didn't expect there to be.  

The planters and garden have all lived through almost two months with no watering through a mini heatwave, followed by torrential rains and a complete change of season.  The Hydrangea by the decking gate had withered away although it has somehow survived and is now coming back to life after a few days of rain.  The planters at the front of the Van have struggled, but although there is no sign of the pansies or primulas that surrounded them, the main little fir tree and the Cordylines are still okay and after a tidy up all three are looking good.

The grass looks as though it has been strimmed at least once in our absence.   Russ, the park jack-of-all-trades and handyman extraordinaire is a good friend to us both, and it looks as though he has nipped through to tame what should have been (looking at some other little gardens on the park) a rampant little hay field.

But the grass was long, and although I could ignore the buzz of lawnmowers and strimmers all weekend, when Monday morning came and was bright, dry and sunny after a night of heavy rain, I decided that I just had to get stuck it.

Three hours of hard work later, the grass was cut, the flower beds were weeded and the big Lemon Balm that dominated the front section was moved from the front to underneath the Buddleia in the back section of the two tiered corner.

Bird bowls and garden ornaments were washed and re-positioned,  the paths, the paving stones under the bench and the steps down from the decking into the garden were all washed with bleachy, soapy water and left to dry in the sun.  And I took a step back to admire what my aching back had achieved.

It looks better, much better and even now after just one night of light rain the grass is starting to regain a touch of green.

This morning was wash morning and I really do need to get back in the swing of hand washing and remember to wash out the sink before I fill it with soapy water.  It's taken quite a few rinses to get the Weetabix out of my knickers  🤣🤣

Sue xx