Wednesday 28 June 2017

In the middle of the night , well it was when i started writing it

Well, what do you do when you get up in the night not being able to sleep with the dehumidifier in your  sleep machine almost as hot as a boiling kettle , So while I have shoved it  in the freezer to cool down I thought I would write a blog post as you do at 2.30 am lol.

I have  been working on the garden for
four years now with trial and error with trying firstly to grow vegetables (My Dream ) but when you have to keep getting down to ground level and you have problems getting up and even moving into different positions when you are down there I have had to give up that idea.

This is what it looked like before.
lawn was that lumpy nearly every time i was in the garden i tripped up.






The initial attempt at growing vegetables.



Now I am focusing on the garden being as easy to maintain as possible but as pretty as I can make it too, We have had to pay to have the garden leveled we did half last year and a half this last few weeks,
 Initially with the help of our nephew who could not fully commit in the end ,Then we were recommended two retired gardeners who came and finished leveling and laid 96 square meters of turf, The company who grew the turf had also included an extra lot of 50 rolls  wich we could not use so that was freecycled

The old garden table and chairs needed a makeover.
You can just see the chairs before in this picture.
Its amazing how flat the lawn looked in this picture but it wasn't , It was dangerous.



The first thing we did in the garden when we moved in was put in a new shed but of course, the colour was not right.




  It now reminds me of a beach hut with the bunting i made.







The large planter has been made to disguise  an ugly manhole that we cannot do anything about as its a rented property .
  All the herbs were reduced at b&Q when the weather was hot , I picked of all the shriveled leaves and gave them a good drink and look at them now after a good feed.



The hanging baskets were from last year the ivy was still in there but all the plants were again reduced the total cost me £5.00 for the two baskets.




All these plants were either grown from seed bought from car boots and jumble sales or from the reduced section at B & Q, Plus presents from my friend Mel and our Daughter. Nik.

This is just one of the pictures of the reduced plants, The  grass before from a couple of years ago



Look at it now,


The grass needs cutting now but at least i dont trip up.



   



The table and chairs  look great.




The bottom of the garden needs weeding and some bark laid but i have to Pace myself and there will be some raised planters and maybe some trees/ shrubs around the wall.










Even my Christmas tree from Tesco has been worth buying this together with another reduced plant takes your eyes away from yet anther drain .

.

Health wise mammogram was fine doctor said the change in shape  of my breast must be due to loosing weight now stands at 12 pound just two pounds to my first stone.

XXXX



21 comments:

  1. The garden looks lovely.
    Good news about the mammogram and the weight loss....well done you-x-

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    1. Thanks sheila , Just waiting for some nice weather now to enjoy it xxx

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  2. At least you used your lack of sleep time constructively rather than staring at the TV!
    You've done a great job in the garden, the paint has made a huge difference ti the shed and the dining set and the herb planter is lovely.
    I'd love to grow stuff but working away over the summer makes it tricky. I'm thrilled that we've got courgettes and the beginnings of tomatoes and squash so far. We did have lettuce and sugar snap peas but they've all been eaten. Keep at it, when you have successes it more than makes up for the disappointments.
    Brilliant weightloss! xx

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    1. Ohh no i couldn't watch late night Tv , Its not me , I am contemplating growing some salad stuff when we get the raised beds but they are not as pretty as plants and flowers lol , I grew some peas once that were eaten by mice , Its so disheartening xxx

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  3. Good news about the mammogram and congratulations on your weight loss, well done. The garden looks wonderful, an amazing difference.

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  4. Thank you , Wish the weight would come off quicker but they say its best to loose it slow xxx

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  5. Lovely garden, glad the mammogram was ok and well done on the weight loss, I love gardening, but since I had sciatica a few weeks back I can't bend over for long x

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    1. Thank you , Sciatica its very painful and can immobilize you entirely but it can last a long time or just a few months hope in your case its the later xxx

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  6. Just found your blog - these before and after garden pictures are so inspiring!

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  7. What a marvellous transformation, and I love your beach-hut-style shed, with bunting! And the grass looks so even and fresh and green. Well done, you. I'm often up at around 2.30 in the morning, too; arthritis means I don't sleep well, either. There must be more of us about only when we look out, everywhere is in darkness, is it not?
    Margaret P

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  8. Hi Shabby

    Good news on the medical front. Really pleased for you. The garden looks lovely it really does and you have stuck with it and done it bit by bit and it really looks good. My garden still needs a lot of work although I have invested heavily in plants this year, I have a lot of tomato plants, a couple of cucumber plants, come globe artichokes, sweet pepper some chilli plants and all the usual herbs plus hanging baskets and strawberry baskets. So even though a lot of work is still needed in the garden at least I have things growing even if in pots. You really have made it charming in your own inimitable style it looks lovely, Have you thought about growing veggies and flowers together like in a French Potager style garden that way you would get the best of both worlds something pretty and something practical to eat. And I love the bunting. It really looks good against the pretty blue and white shed. Well done it really is coming together and looks fab. Take care sweetheart, Pattypanxx

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    1. Hello Patricia , Yes i have thought about growing veg and plants together but that still means i will have to get down to plant them and the weed them , I was thinking of putting something into the raised beds we are going to have but i am not sure , It might be something to plan for next yaer xxx

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  9. Wow, what a transformation, good for you! So glad the news about the mammogram was good and you are slowly loosing weight.

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    1. Thanks Janice , Yes the weight loss is tough going but i ma getting there xxx

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  10. Well done you! The garden is looking wonderful and congratulations on the weight loss. Good news about the mammogram.

    Your bunting is fabulous!

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  11. Thanks Veronica , The bunting was made from all scraps and most of it was jumble sale fabric , I sprayed it with waterproofing spray and stain repentant so hopefully it will stay like it with the weather xxx

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  12. Hello :) Wow ! It looks SO much bigger now ! You,ve done a great job there ....well done ! Happy for you that your scan was good too, now you can relax and enjoy the summer :)

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    1. Thanks deb , Its hard to get a true picture as its an L shape , The lawn is the bottom part of the l then the top part with the obelisk and bench is the stick part of the L , Hope that explains lol xx

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thank you for your message , Shabby