Wednesday, October 31, 2007

What a saw and some loppers can do to a garden

I am halfway through hacking back the garden. My mother valiantly stood all morning and chopped up the branches into little pieces to fit more into the recycling bin, while I attacked the trees and creepers, ivy and other random things growing where I most certainly did not plant them. I had to get out the saw after a while to get rid of the branches.
You can see the bald tree behind the storage shed. It was a pyrocantha (??) type of thingy with every leaf a thorn. It also happens to be in my neighbour's garden. Well, the tree trunk is in their garden, but the tree is in mine, and was hanging over the entire patio and irritating me intensely. I like going barefoot, and with those leaves, it is impossible. So it is history. And before you ask....yes, I CAN cut down anything on my side of the boundary!

Then I spent a couple of hours sitting on that kitchen chair (which I used to climb onto the roof of the shed thingy..... thank heavens my mother does not think of taking photos) chopping up the thorny branches. Please note the branches obscuring the patio. It was a big tree.


Did I mention branches? Lots of them. With thorns.


In addition to the full recycling bin (we have a special one for garden stuff) I filled these huge bags too.


And this is what I have left in the beds I did yesterday. I am in the process of emptying every pot and replanting stuff, and then I will put down that cloth to stop weeds. When I go and buy it. I used a mini hoe to chop up the roots of the ivy, which is everywhere. Don't worry, by next summer, it will be an overflowing English garden again.
And this was the village church this morning early in the gentle sunlight. It all looked golden and rather beautiful, when I went to get Mum's paper.

Now I am off to continue with the massacre of the garden. The nails are history and my gloves appear to have holes the size of craters. But I will conquer the weeds. (I will take a photo of the loppers, Barb. I have no idea what you call them. They are great!)

7 comments:

Chris said...

OH MY WORD!!!

It's a wonder you can still walk, much less take photos after all that work! I would definitely be all done in.

One word of caution from someone who has been there, done that and has the t-shirt and scars to prove it...

Leaves of three, leave them be! :0)

Barbara said...

You have been busy. So worth it next spring.

Dawn said...

YOu are most ambitious! I am afraid I would not be so good at keeping up with those sorts of things if I had to. Good for you!

someone else said...

What a lot of work!! You should take a vacation now.

Your photo of the church is really beautiful. I love how the sunlight makes it glow.

Susie said...

Looks like a huge job!
Happy Halloween!
xo

At A Hen's Pace said...

Sounds like you know how to be ruthless when you need to be. It'll pay off next summer!

:)

Jeanne

Crystal said...

My word, you have been busy lately! I was away for a bit (celebrating our granddaughter's 1st birthday - important stuff you know!) so I had some catching up with you to do. What a great feeling to have the garden and beds tidied up - it will be lovely in the spring. Enjoy that new computer!! And I'm glad you got to meet a blogging friend - hopefully one day that will be you and I!!