Work that needs doing and action so far Part One A

This post started early this morning (Tuesday 26 May) at 6:00am as G had a fishing match today with his buddy T.  They have been fishing buddies for over 40 years.  So as I was up, I got a few things done.  Whilst the weather is good I intend to try and get up early, as it is cooler to work then and hopefully will be able to get a wriggle on and get a lot of stuff done.

Please note that the Action Days do not necessarily run consecutively but focus on a particular day's achievement.  Take Day 4 (Friday 29 May) I did not get much done because of G's eye appointment which threw everything out of synch.

Things to Do

• Go shopping to Home Bargains for Bird Bath, and to look to see what plants are available, and to buy a few if I can.  Also to price up some other items which I know are available in the gardening section.  Particularly after some hanging basket brackets, Hose Pipe, attachments and Wand and some of those triangular shaped hanging baskets.   ✔
• Fetch the Wine Rack for the Dining Room from the CS. ✔
• Outside the back door needs tidying up; it is a piecemeal job, that is going to take sometime. WIP
• Lavender plugs need soaking and potting on. ✔
• Demijohns, Teracotta Bread Crock and Large storage crock need soaking and cleaning and put back into use.  Demijohns once cleaned to go on top of the fridge and the Bread Crock and storage Crock will go on the Dresser once that is done.  The Bread Crock will house the daily bread and the Blue BHS large crock, I am going to see if I can buy some more as they will be useful in the Pantry.  I like to recycle items where I can. ✔
• Clothes and Household Linen washing and drying on the line.✔
• Sorting Garden waste into specific items and then storing in the back garden until we go to the Tip.    ✔ partially done WIP.   
• Do further clearing outside the back door, get rid of the rubbish and add a few more plants in pots to make it look a little more interesting and loved. ✔  
• Nurture those plants I do have. Daily job of watering up by hand. ✔
• Sort out the shelving near the water butt which stores all my plant pots of different sizes.  Needs Spring cleaning, size of pots sorted and washed before being put back onto the shelving. ✔ and WIP
• Cleaning 100 plant pots by hand in hot soapy water.  I used a round brush into which there is a cavity where you could add in more washing liquid.  It is a super little brush that I use for all sorts of things.  Cleaning doors down, cleaning plant pots, scrubbing cutting boards down, general cleaning etc.✔
• Clean the greenhouses  and wash out properly.  
• Sort the Rubbish into a specific area in the garden in readiness to go to the Tip rather than leaving in the front garden. ✔
• Build up the two greenhouse shelves and get them installed into the greenhouse.
• Sort out the Fig plants x 2 I bought last year. ✔
• Re-purpose old peat free compost from last year.  Run through a Riddle and then add Chicken pellets.  Then combine with the same quantity of new compost.
• Sow some seeds.
• Pot up some Ivy. ✔
• Re-pot some Lavender from last year.  Two pots lost half the Lavender with only a little bit in each pot.  Therefore going to plant up into one pot for the Old Herb Garden.
• Pot up Lemon Thyme x 2.
• Pot up Lavender x 2. (new plants)
• Found one of two missing Dahlias from last year.  Second one had died in the pot. Other one have put into intensive care in the greenhouse.  Needs some TLC.
• Pot up some Dahlias x 8 a bit late with these.

Action Day 1:

Went shopping to Home Bargains.  Bought Hose Pipe, fittings, attachments, 6 Hanging Basket Brackets (need a few more yet at £1 per bracket).  I also bought, Miracle Grow, a Seaweed feed, and three Cone shaped Hanging baskets.  They were £2.99 each and I got the last three.

Also bought a selection of plants i.e.:

2 Clematis
2 Lavender
1 Pack of trailing Geraniums White
1 Pack of trailing Geraniums Blue
1 Hanging basket of Blue Bacopia.  Only £5.99 cheaper this way to fill other baskets or planters. There are about six plants per hanging basket.
2 Packs of Trailing Lobelia

I also looked to see what Herbs were available.  

I came away with two Thyme Plants, which I thought were ordinary Thyme.  When I looked more closely, they were Lemon Thyme which I love, and which is gorgeous if used with a sugar and water glaze or honey glaze for Carrots.

I tidied up a bit more around the back door and into the Old Herb Garden. It is a slow old job, but will get there eventually. Am sorting things out as I go as well as things that are to go to the Tip. The bottom end of the Old Herb Garden is coming along nicely and the plants that survived last year that have been put there are coming along and starting to grow well. Lots more to do though. 

Soaked some my Lavender plant plugs and get them potted up. Partly done. I have 150 small plant plugs of both Dwarf Munstead and Hidcote Lavenders I do not know which are which. Am assuming two layers of four in each pack is one particular variety.  Have kept them separate so as not to mingle them. Then I dropped a tray and mussed everything up. These have been bought as babies so will not do much this year.  However I am planning a Lavender Hedge and some planters with the Lavenders once they have grown on a bit.  I dealt with those leftover before going to bed so that they in effect soaked overnight.  Will be potted tomorrow.  

Initial minimum clear of one of the greenhouses just to get the plants bought today in there so they have a place to sit and where they can be watered up. Greenhouse left open until later to ensure the plants were not in blazing sun.

Had another short period of time this evening where I did a little more.  Then closed the greenhouse up.

Action Day 2:

My Demijohns for my wine making have been outside the back door as I had assembled a few of them as I had intended about 10 weeks ago to start making wine again and I have not got them or cleaned them up or indeed started making wine. As I still intend to make wine I have put about 8 of them to soak in hot soapy water with a little bleach added.  Another day I will then empty them out and use the Metabisulphate and a bottle brush to get them squeaky clean.  They will then go into the oven for a short period of time to dry them off. Then I will start making wine.  

There are also some other items which are bagged ready to go to the Tip. Some of it plastic. some of it garden waste.  All the garden waste is being assembled in a pile to be taken to the Tip probably sometime next week.   

On the laundry front, there were two loads of clothes that were washed and got onto the line.  There were also eight bags of household laundry, blankets, throws and quilts that were put out last night in readiness for washing whilst this weather is so hot.  I only have two bags left to deal with.  These were inside the back gate.

Second Foray into the greenhouse for minimum clear Part Two. Still loads of pots and dead plants in greenhouse One from last year. Stripped out all the soil from trays and plant pots and brushed them down in readiness for washing. Put different sized pots into stacks. They are now ready for washing which will go on in the background until all are scrubbed clean. Also large seed trays and large deep greenhouse trays prepared in the same way.

Also some pots and trays cleared in the same way ready for washing just in front of greenhouse.

Action Day Three:

This started outside the back door.  I managed to get four more Demijohns washed today.  Also cleared one of the Boxes and a load of preserving jars. I plan on putting these into a larger tub with a lid for storage.  Now more storage space created and so I then shifted all the Demijohns that are soaking for the time being in the box's place for the time being.

I then set about the area on the border which had thistles and weeds with deep roots.  With a bit of brute force, managed to dig the roots out.  Also put another slab down.  I intend to do the same at the other end of the border, with slabs in the middle of the run for the bird bath when I have saved up for it.

I then set about a load of stuff sorting out and chucking anything that was not needed.  Created a storage area for my preserving jars so that they are in one area.

Cleared the bathroom wall of a load of rubbish and also weeded.  Created a stash for all the rubbish to go.  All organised neatly.  A lot of it is garden waste.  There is also a bag for old plastic bits and plastic pots that are damaged.

A good sweep up was had in the Old Herb Garden as well as the area along the bathroom wall.  There is load more to be cleared but am getting there.

Then turned to the area that holds my pots, and the two shelving racks.  Cleared everything off one of the stacks and started on the other one.  Managed to get the top shelf sorted on this one. Also cleared some trays that were full of pots in the garden.  I had cleared a load yesterday Day 3, and bought those into the house this afternoon and gave them a good scrub.  100 pots hand washed in soapy water.  Then finished potting up the rest of the Lavender plugs.  Got them into larger trays for watering purposes and holding them together.  Fed the plants in the greenhouse with a Sea weed feed, and the Old Herb Garden which houses the grape and the two Potted Figs.

Bought the washing in, and started another load.  This time a blanket which will go out on the line tomorrow.

Action Day Four

Not much has gone on today as we had to go to G's eye appointment for cataract surgery.  He has been assessed and is a suitable candidate for surgery.  He could hear quickly, it may take longer.  He will have to attend Bedford Hospital to see a Senior Consultant.  The type of cataract he has is referred to as a congenital one - there is a suspicion that he was born with it, but that does make them harder to remove.  Apparently the surgery will take place there and he will be in and out the same day.  So we will see what happens.

As a result by the time we got back home most of the day had passed.  I did water up the greenhouse and the garden.  Potted up some Ivy seedlings ( I seem to have a plethora of it at the moment so I want to bring some plants on for use in hanging baskets and planters).  It will be cheaper doing it this way and hopefully ensure that I will have suitable sized plants for this year.  I may have to buy in a few for window boxes and hanging baskets this year.

I also emptied out a few large planters from last year.  I have bagged the soil for the time being and intend to run it through a riddle, get rid of any plant material left over and the riddled soil will add some chicken pellets and then mix half old compost to half new compost for growing a few things this year.  My Lavender seems to be settling down as do my other plants.

I am going to sow a few seeds tomorrow, mostly some salad stuff to start with (no Tomatoes this year - if I find some in time may grab some) however at the present moment in time have not come across any.  I also intend to pot up remnants of Lavender from last year into one pot for the Old Herb Garden collection.

Sorted out my two Fig Plants that I bought as small plants last Summer.  They have grown a lot but needed some leaves removing from the soil and a little more compost added.

Action Day 6:

Saturday 30 May 2026.  I woke at 6:20am and promptly turned over and went back to sleep.  The heat has been getting to me.  Was up by 9:30am though, got breakfast sorted and then went out into the garden.

Today have found a Chamomile plant that had set itself in the garden and have split that into three seedling plants.  I bought Chamomile in last year and seemingly lost all the plants, so I was pleased to have found this.  I have checked that it is Chamomile

Also pulled a load of planters which need emptying of their compost, and am sorting them onto their racks.  They do need a good scrub up but that is something that can happen of an evening after I have finished watering up.  If I can get a few done each day moving forward should be able to get through them pretty quickly.  Me pulling the planters off the patio where they were stored is also clearing the patio.  I am aiming to get that all sorted in the next few days or so.  We have weed growth in-between the slabs, and there is weeding that needs doing to the side near the Rhubarb and the ground also needs forking over.

I love being outside in the fresh air probably because I am cooped up in the warm of the house in the Winter.  However gardening grounds me in the moment, makes me slow down a bit and I find it relaxing and calming.  I am limited this year on what I can grow with the caravan holiday taking preference in my mind at the moment.  However we do not know when G's surgery is going to take place.  It could be quick, it could be much later.  We will therefore have to see what happens.

I also have my eye on clearing the second greenhouse.  It is full of planters which also need stripping out.  I am hoping to get to that when G goes fishing on Sunday.  If I get an early start before the Sun gets too hot I am hoping to get a wriggle on.

I also at some point need to get into the jungle to retrieve the second water butt.  I also think that there might be a composter down there as well.  I need to remove a load of stuff first though.

I went back out into the garden after tea.  Have put more compost filled pots in the bottom part of the garden which is where I will do the recycling of the compost this week of an evening I think.  That is the outline plan.

I also cleared quite a bit more of the patio and started to get rid of some of the weeds.  G will have to help me lift some of the slabs as that is where the roots of some of the weeds have grown and there is no way I will get them out otherwise.  At least the patio area is starting to look a bit clearer than it had done.  Even with the use of a little pronged raker fork I have I could not get it all out.

Tea was rather impromptu.  G had been to our local Pasta Shop in Fletton Peterborough.  He came back with some Provolone and Salami slices (the Salami was spicy), some Porchetta which I absolute love and also some some fine cut Ham which was creamy and buttery and absolutely delicious.  He also bought home two lots of Italian sausages one with Fennel seeds in which I love and the other just plain.  Which I also like.  I also like the coiled sausage that we get intermittently as well.  We are going to have the sausages for tea another night with mixed roasted veggies.

G had also been to the bakery and came back with a Spring Onion and cheese Flan, as well as a Pork Pie.  The Pork Pie was had for breakfast.  The Flan, we were going to have tonight but we were full and so I decided to save it for another night.  In any event it was all very tasty and went down nicely.

Action Day 7:

Today would have been my Dad's 92nd Birthday Happy Bump Day Dad.  Much loved and missed.

I was up early at 6:30am.  G has gone fishing and so I got up and decided to get on with a few things.  My logic being it has been so hot better to try and do things in the cool.  This morning though has a nice breeze and I needed a light covering on top of my Tee shirt as the breeze is fresher than what it has been.

In any event I ventured into the garden for a mug of tea (after eating my cereal) and then decided to start work.  I have lots of plant pots that need cleaning - did not get done last year.  In the past few days I have washed over 200 plant pots.  I did over 100 today alone.  No doubt there will be a load more to do tomorrow.

After that was done for the day, (I intend doing a few each day until they are all cleaned up), I then decided to tackle the last batch of Demijohns and washed up 10 today.  That is 20 Demijohns all washed and soaking.  Before I can finish the cleaning on them though, I do need to send for a couple of Demijohn brushes for giving the sides and the bottoms of the bottles a good scrub out.  Heavy duty cleaning of these jars I usually use a little bleach in.  My Demijohns had been stored in the garden and the box had collapsed so they got a bit muckier than usual so it has necessitated a very deep clean.  Once I get the bottle brushes and can tackle the debris left after soaking I can then get the Demijohns filled with some water and Metabisulphate for proper sterilised cleaning, before I launch into making wine again.  The only reason the Demijohns have appeared in this long gardening post is because they were in the garden and needed removing.

Quite a productive three hours spent cleaning. Then I stopped for half an hour for a tea break.

I am now stripping out the greenhouse/growing house that was used for Tomatoes last year.  What a mess.  It needs a good bottoming out which I am in the process of dealing with.  I did have a surprise though.  Two of the Tomato plants which I thought were dead have sprouted a new plant each.  Totally chuffed about this as I have no Tomatoes as of yet.  Am going to see if G will take me to go and have a quick look during the week.  One greenhouse now totally stripped out in readiness for the new shelving to go in.

On the other hand,  I lost a bag of seeds!  Do not ask.  I knew I had a load of seeds that I bought last year.  Could not find them.  Have since found some of them and pleasantly surprised that I am not too late for sowing a lot of them.   Need to find the other missing bag though. Just need to get more compost then.  Probably a good job that the second greenhouse/growing house has now been stripped out, washed and the floor washed.  Now just to do the washing out on the other one.  Maybe Tuesdsay for that as I need to attend to the kitchen tomorrow.

Have sorted out some of the seeds.  I have prepared pots for Runner Beans - Scarlet Emperor and a violet podded climbing bean.  The pots have been scrubbed as have the trays for holding them.  I normally plant two seeds per pot.  I also soak the beans before transferring them to the pot.  This was the way I was taught to deal with beans as a child.  These are now all in the greenhouse and I will check on them tomorrow.

When G came home he tackled the two shelves for the greenhouse and I am quite pleased with them for what I paid.  Now to really get going on the seed front.  I should have enough to do the seeds I want to but I will need to wait on potting some things  up as I will need more compost for that which I intend to get in about 10 days or so.  Already budgeted for.

Now I may be wrong, but I have a feeling that G's appointment will come through incredibly quickly or that it will take forever.  My inner thoughts are saying probably later.  Have to allow time for healing afterwards and I assume him not being able to drive for a period of time.

FUTURE PLANS PART A:

• See if I can get hold of the bird bath I am after to commemorate Missy - unfortunately they had sold out of the one I was after.  Will have to keep looking for a suitable alternative.  I have sourced another one but that is nearly four times the price of the one I originally saw.  Knew I should have bought it when I saw it.  Going to save the pennies for this new one have found.  There is also a partner piece which is a small water feature with a frog like a mini pond.  Research completed.  Need now just to save.

• There are still further Plants to be added,  This is the list so far.  Could be added to further:-

        Ordinary Thyme

        Variegated Sage
        Basil

        Lemon Verbena

        Tarragon

        Summer Savory

• Plant up some more planters
• Plant up some Hanging Baskets
• Make some Window boxes to suit some planters already have out of scrap wood and paint green.
• Use three panels of Trellis I have and get it painted In Green.  Use in the Old Herb Garden with a Clematis and hopefully a Honeysuckle or climbing Rose.
• Eventually put in some trellis the Old Herb Garden to give a bit more privacy between us and next door property still unlet.  Needs to be freestanding on poles and legs.
• Train the grape up the trellis
• Take a few cuttings of the grape vine.
• Paint the pale green metal planters I have in green to match everything else.
• Paint the Watering Can, it is just plain zinc at the moment.
• Create an Arch from Old Herb Garden into main garden with Trellis and a Honeysuckle or Rose growing there.
• Create an Arbour with Wisteria growing over it and a bench to sit on of an evening.
• Sort the garden

That is quite a lot of To-Do items since last Tuesday and I am pretty pleased with the progress that is being made.  It has been a lot of hard work on my part, but I am keeping at it. Now lets be honest, it is still a far way from being completed but I am very happy with the progress made so far.  I am doing my best not to over-think things and just get stuck in and work with what I have and what transpires along the way.  Prevarication is a habit I got into  as a result of erring on the side of caution and I have to unteach myself the habit.

I am now absolutely shattered.  Regime continues tomorrow, although saying that kitchen takes priority tomorrow it will be late afternoon before I will be able to get into the garden.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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