It has been one of those years in our garden. The grass has been getting patchier, the weeds more abundant after each rain shower, the moss getting hold and on top of that the hedges, shrubs and plants have all been growing at a rate only comparable to that of the Triffids of John Wyndham’s eponymous novel, The Day of the Triffids” , or at the very least tropical jungle fauna most likely found in Brazil or Borneo.
One day I was surveying our vast expanse of manicured lawn (I wish), yes all 45 sq metres of the rear garden and decided that action was needed to make the garden a more attractive place to sit by actually sorting it out.
I had nurtured this patch of grass from rough pasture to something approaching a mown area of green stuff, or could I say, less rough pasture and it had let me down. The grass, despite my efforts of weekly cutting and careful removal of weeds, feeding and treating with moss killer had now developed large bald patches where I had been successful in my war on moss.
The shrubs needed pruning and in many cases actually digging out and moving to a more suitable place in the garden. We also have a large hedge that comprises a couple of small Yews, very large Scots Pine and several Hawthorn bushes which look great but were harbouring wayward cats, mating foxes and a large number of brambles that made getting in and around the area a bit of a challenge.
So along came Alan, a man with a pair of shears and a spade and a bit more knowledge than in terms of gardening. He arrived every Monday morning just in time for a cup of coffee and a chocolate biscuit and a bit of lamp swinging and chat between me and him. He would then set about the various tasks we set often with some “labouring” help from me and now we were able to go about the various garden centres buying up the plants and shrubs that Alan directed us towards.
As we approached mid October we knew we would have to put Alan “on-hold” until next spring but not until we had completed just one more task. Alan had noted that a branch of our very wild Scots Pine (that’s the Scots for you, leave them alone too long without a bit of a haircut and treatment and they get wild alright!) we decided to lop the rather long branch that was starting to dominate the garden and block the light into my “study” on the first floor.
Once we realised that neither he nor I had a ladder long enough to reach the branch at the correct spot Alan initially suggested that I hold the ladder while he crawled out along the branch to cut of the correct amount. We soon dismissed this plan and moved to plan number two, We would hang the ladder from the branch, no. OK, plan three, we would get the step ladder, the extending ladder and our empty wheelie bin and make a tower of sorts that the mighty Alan would scale to amputate a portion of the branch, if not all or part of one of his limbs. Plan three worked, yes worked and here is the evidence. I know, all limbs are present but you can see that there is a missing tree limb!
No animals or humans were hurt during the making of this photograph and the tree is recovering well and demanding more attention next year!
I will try and bring my loyal readers up to date on this and many other matters as the year progresses.
Finally, reading the Ibiza Sun Newspaper today I saw a rather nice reference to my Blog from another “frequent visitor” to Ibiza, Mr AJ! Thank you AJ for mentioning this madness that is my Blog and thank you for your kind words also. So, keep reading!
