Sunday 18 October 2015

Autumn jobs at home

Hi everyone

I know - I have had several messages to ask if all is fine which is lovely to be missed but with Autumn arriving fast, so are the final jobs that need doing.  The shorter days just seem to bring an urgency to tasks that I have not got to over the summer.

The biggest one has been to get the side fence between a neighbour & us done as the concrete fence posts are shedding bits of concrete every time the wind blows & the wooden panels are flapping in the gentle wind.  The Autumn mists have arrived already & early mornings are delightful …


Our hedges have been on hold over the summer too because we have had so many nesting garden birds that we just couldn't risk cutting down nests.


Fortunately, the same chap was tasked with both jobs so that was a relief - one set of people.


Giving the gift of light to our back neighbour with the side hedges being done too; so much activity.

The wall is raised on our side & carries a service pipe of sorts so we had to proceed cautiously.  Our neighbour's garden is higher than ours - very noticeable once our fence was down. Luckily they allowed us to do a lot of the work from their side …


Our prickly pyracantha hedge was trimmed back to allow for the new fence - the birds love the juicy orange berries ….


While the visiting ladders were about, I took advantage of them to trim back our lovely house rose which has had a great year again - cut back & tied in ahead of windy, colder weather …


New concrete posts & heavy fence panels neaten our boundary again.


A new gate & it all looks much better ….


Ten 25kg bags of gravel cover the new side bed - neater even if the 25kg bags were really heavy & they seemed to get even heavier as the day wore on …


While the hedges were being cut, I asked if the tall, spindly willow tree could be cut too.  It attracts so many wasps each year which suck on its sap, but that means that we cannot get near that side of the garden so it had to go ….


However, once the tree was removed, I realised how unruly that garden had become because we couldn't get near it for wasps so action was needed.  Autumn is the perfect time to move shrubs & plants so I seized to moment to make some changes  …


A day later & I am still digging plants up & keeping them on the side ….


 2 days of back breaking work in our clay soil & the space looks so much better. Hedging plants moved & the taller plants have been moved to the back of the bed.


Some plants stayed, others are being moved about in the bed …


A small job of cutting down a tree & tidying a bed became a marathon weeklong task which spilled over on to the patio & the lawn …


Some of the plants have been gently tied while I work around them. Can you see the willow stump? That will be killed off rather than dug up ….


To make access easier in the deep bed, I decided on some stepping stones & found these gorgeous ones at our local garden centre … how fab are they?


Hey little fella - you scared the life out of me lurking in the tray with the plants. We have some regular frogs around the garden so he was gently moved to a damp spot behind the plants …


The new stepping stones in place - at least I won't compact the soil in that bed by walking on it …


Much better - some spaces where some bulbs or seasonal plants can be put … A job that took me 2 weeks in between work. A very pleasing change.  I naturally had some helpers …

Vivaldi (Aldi) our lion head rabbit who loves being outside with me …


and one of our resident robins who followed me around looking for worms …


Am I the only one who is still playing catch up with Autumn jobs?  Why the burst of energy?  Our winters are long & soon the soil will be too hard to dig over & I do like a good view all winter …


My garden view - still some things to do (repaint the chimnea) but it is looking much better already.


Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate your comments,

Dee ~♥~

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