Operation Garden

As I said last time, spring does have a way of filling me with enthusiasm. I am definitely a person who flags a bit in the winter and rejuvenates with the return of brighter days. Also, my birthday is in spring so I can start to look forward to my Day of Pudding (yes, it does need capitalisation!) More on that another time.

So, where has all this enthusiasm got me? Well, over the weekend, I pointed myself (and him) in the direction of the garden. I have to admit, things had got a bit out of hand over the winter...something to do with having a baby, two dogs and very little time. The result was a build up of 'stuff', all awaiting it's final ceremonial trip to the dump. Bits of wood, old broken plant pots, a dog guard for the car boot that had proved ineffective to say the least and several bags of rubble that were the result of our decision to cut a new doorway into the garage. It all had to go. So the car was loaded and off I went. I won't bore you with the details, but I will ask whose idea it was that rubble and hardcore has to be carried up a flight of slippery metal steps and then hefted up over the side of a metal skip? And thanks very much to the burly blokes who stood and watched with a slight air of impatience as my slow progress held up their own unloading.

Anyway, the dumping bit is not the most exciting. What I am most pleased with is the result in the garden. After a fresh coat of some lovely bright orange (light oak, yeah right) wood preserver, my revived planting table is now once again ready for action in the space created. Watch this space for seedlings' progress. Even better, the small raised bed, decimated over the winter by the onslaught of a very naughty spaniel with his own ideas on how gardening should be done, is now restored and ready for some new plants. I had to do the same restoration this time last year but I have to say it was much quicker and easier this time, I think not being pregnant helped! The spaniel in question has been warned to keep off, he responded with a smirk.

My reward to us both for all this hard work? A very tasty toad in the hole! I'm sure that will be quite concerning to those of my readers unfamiliar with British cooking but suffice to say that the 'toads' were organic and free range and the 'hole' rose beautifully, being one of things that I can cook.