Friday 24 March 2017 - Hickling

What a beautiful day!  And what a beautiful garden!  A third of an acre garden, which currently incorporates a good size compost area, polytunnel, raised beds, chicken run, family garden with flower beds.  The owners plan to also have a wildflower meadow and orchard, and also to make more a small garden adjoining their holiday cottage, which is attached as an annexe to their house.  There is a lot of work to do!

 

Today I've been digging holes to plant  the fruit trees which are due for imminent delivery.  My brief was to dig seven two foot "cubes", spaced at least two metres apart and to incorporate the two plum trees already in the garden.  These holes were to be dug in the "meadow" area, so basically meant cutting out the turf.  

Luckily, my client is incredibly knowledgeable - more so than I am at the moment - so I had very clear instructions on what to do.  On the first hole I dug, I was a bit stumped and tentative as I didn't want to dig a huge hole, only for it to be in the wrong place.  I spent a lot of time walking back and forth with my tape measure!   But by the second hole, I had a definite rhythm going - cut and take off the turf for the two foot square hole, and then wheel that over to the chicken run for the chooks.

 

Then back to the hole to dig out  the very heavy clay and wheel that down to the bottom of the garden to the "mound" which is made up of rubble from the building works that have been done on the house.  Back to the hole for more digging out of clay and then back to the "mound".   Once I was satisfied that I was two foot down, then up to the polytunnel to collect a good amount of chicken manure fertiliser and back to the hole to fork into the soil to ensure enough nutrients for when the trees are planted.

I didn't manage to get all seven holes dug - I managed five holes in three hours so was disappointed with my efforts, although think I might have been set a test by my clients to see how I do - this was, after all, my first working visit to the garden.  (I've since had some feedback that they're very happy with me and have actually recommended me to friends, so I may have another client from this!  In addition, I have been set another lot of tasks for my next visit, so I can't have done too badly!)

Obviously the holes can't be seen in this picture - but they are definitely there! - so I hope that no-one goes out walking in the dark and falls down them.

Very pleased with my efforts and I even came away with some eggs from the chooks, with a promise of a dozen eggs as part of my wages - bonus!

The chickens certainly seemed  very happy with the new grass covering in their run!

 

 

Friday 10 March 2017 - Norwich

Today has been glorious - no coat needed today! 

I've dug up the last tree root that will come up now - the others are too big, but being too big, they are less of a trip hazard as they are very obvious! 

I've moved all the pots out of the trench to the side of the garden and filled in some of the trench using the excess soil in the compost/ wheelie bin area.

Sadly, as fast as I was filling in the hole, Sid the greyhound was digging it all up again, so I really need to work out how I'm going to do this.   I'm wondering whether a few bags of shop-bought compost chucked in the day before Sid goes on holiday to Wales might work, as there will be a whole dog-free week for it to settle.  Also, if I chuck some grass seeds over it on the same day, then that's a week where the seeds have a chance to get established? 

I've dug out some more weeds in the lawn and planted some primroses around the base of the tree.

The biggest job today was trying to get up a big patch of stinging nettles that had taken root again.  These will come up all the time, so I will just need to keep an eye on it.

Again, this can be covered in grass seed in a couple of weeks to try and establish.

By the time I'd finished, the brown bin was full of stinging nettles!   Once I get the compost bin established, then I can put these nettles into there - chopped up of course - because this compost will then lock in nitrogen into the soil where it is placed in the garden.   Nettles are good!

The pots are looking good in the sunshine - the hellebores are coming along nicely.  I know that more pots have been procured, so my aim is to divide some plants and repot into these new containers.  I did a bit of light weeding in the existing pots, but they are remarkably weed-free.

The garden isn't looking too bad - it's not as muddy as it has been, but it is looking very bare - I will be sprinkling grass seeds in a fortnight (see above) and hopefully that will start to establish quickly.

 

Time spent working in the garden today:  1 hour 

 

Jobs completed:  tree root dug up; soil moved from compost area into trench; all pots out of trench and sitting in sunshine by fence; weeds dug out of lawn; primroses planted; brown bin filled with stinging nettes.

 

Jobs for future visits:   level area by gate for compost bin and wheelie bins;  move soil from this area into the trench;  dig out more weeds;  cut grass with shears before mowing can commence in spring;  grass seeds to be sown (March) for planting out in small clumps;  dig up excess foxgloves from my own garden to plant;  research water butt coming off shed;  concentrate on area behind bike shed and patio;  split osteospermum into separate pots;  plant bluebells; research solar lighting and tealights in tree;  research stepping stones; sprinkle seed mix; weed patio area and inbetween paving slabs.