The garden makeover continues

I think I must have spent at least 12 hours in the past week working in my back garden staying in the shaded areas.  Today I spent another few hours.

You wouldn't have thought weeding these beds outside my studio, and putting all the rabbit and chicken proof netting up would have taken half an hour at least - but it did.  I also planted a few seedling leeks too.  In the foreground is my garlic patch.  It was so incredibly bright when I took the photos - hence them looking  a bit naff.

Most of the wood from the pergola was taken by Sue - for her wood burner - there was enough to last all winter I think.  I kept a few lengths of it back for my own projects.  One of which was thisstrip all along the side of the bungalow. 

 The chickens love scratching out the gravel along here - so I have put paid to that by laying some long lengths of the heavy timber to prevent them. Patrick cut off some edges for me.

It looks much neater now.

I am so looking forward to the 18th May when the turf should arrive - it will really look so much better then. 

I have so missed being outside in the summer months - so plan to bring home our 'vintage' metal set of table and chairs back from the allotment.   I'll need to give them a coat of Hammerite no doubt, and I am going to buy a big umbrella - and set it up beside the pond, so that I can sit in the shade out of the sun and enjoy the sights and sounds - bliss!

I have moved lots of pots around the pond now, and the bird bath - and the amount of birds that have been in and out of the pond having a bath has been amazing - it's a real attraction.  

The decision to turn it into a wild life pond was the right thing to do.   I still have the frame to cover it up if  young children visit though.

We have to have a new length of conduit to have laid and I have a new pump to go in, and the filtration unit to get going again - so it will soon be lovely and clear.  The water lily leaves are near the surfact, and there are lots of frog spawn, frogs, and newts too.

I have lots of pots to fill now, so plan to visit a nursery some time this week if I can fit it in

I have also saved enough lengths of wood from the pergola to finish off the veggie cage.   It used to be the old chicken run, but they really didn't need it as they spent all their time free ranging.  The milk bottle is on the top of a cane and I had to use it to keep the netting up in the winter when we had all the snow.  I now intend to have the whole lot 'framed' with wood so that it holds the netting up and looks like a proper cage - rather than the bodge I did when I created it years ago.

This is an ongoing project this summer, but it will look much better when it is finished, and more importantly, much easier for me to manage!

If I have enough of these 4"x4"' lengths of wood, I am going to get them cut to size, cut out the lawn edges, and sink these in - to stop the bantam babes scratching any soil onto the lawn, and to save me trimming the edges.  I have laid this one here just to gauge the size.  My next task is to dig over this trodden down area, and to rescue a very big leaved hosta which has been trampled on. 

Watch this space!