In the sun, sun, sun

Today was spent largely in the garden: After the usual chat to mum and dad, and my trip to the shops, of course.

It was a lovely day outside and I took full advantage of the sun and blue sky by creating two more mowing strips and attacking the nettle patch.

The first mowing strip was around the base of the gazebo, something which has always been a pain to mow. Hopefully this will be a lot better now.

Mowing strip around a gazebo leg

The second runs alongside what was before today, a massive nature area in front of the compost bins or, working area, as we like to call it.

When I say nature area, I clearly mean a great crop of nettles which have been giving a bountiful harvest every year since we moved in. The resultant devastation left me with my next big job – digging out the bed.

Nettles are horrid things. The merest brush against a leaf with any part of the body, stings and bites. For this reason, cultivation must be carried out with great care and patience. Before attacking the huge network of roots, I cut all the plants down to the base, carefully removing all stalks and leaves. I managed to survive with minimal stings and, gratefully proceeded to dig out and insert the mowing strip.

Mowing strip along the, soon to be, ex-nettle patch

It was very hot work, being in direct sunlight for most of the day. The poodles watched me from shaded vantage points, venturing out briefly to come and watch me with occasional inquisitiveness.

Day-z spent most of the time under the shade of the hornbeam but Carmen managed to find a poodle sized spot at the base of the Lavatera where she lay, eyes generally closed with minimal movement.

It is always very pleasant gardening with Radio 4 nattering away like an old friend over the fence sharing some sort of mind numbing chore, but the builders next door (they are having their roof completely replaced) listen to a music station so it was all a bit like duelling radios whenever I had to get closer to the house.

I had to stop at 4 to shower and prep dinner, ready for Nicktor. I also had to make his bed which I managed to do while talking to Mirinda on the phone. While this isn’t the hardest task with one hand, the pillowslips took an awful lot longer than they normally do.

Oh, I almost forgot…one of our poppies opened it’s little face to the sky today.

The first poppy of the year (in our garden, anyway)