Gardening Day.

How do you know that a permanent marker isn't actually permanent? When you look at the labels by your buddlia cuttings and see blank spaces where the colour of each buddlia had been carefully written. 

The day started threatening rain but I took a chance and by the time the washing machine had finished it was a sunny, windy day perfect for hanging out the bedding. Later in the afternoon a dark grey cloud had me running to bring the washing in and hang it over the rayburn. And then it didn't rain. It was too good a day to be indoors so I dug up docks, pulled nettles and cut back branches in the old hens' run. I really should have got on with clearing that before everything grew so tall but it wasn't a priority.

I had my inventor's hat on today as I tried to work out a way of bringing the garden table down from the shed. Previously I have brought it down and back up, by turning it on its side and rolling it like a wheel but the gravel drive marked the edge of the table. I didn't want to drag or 'walk' it down as this would probably damage the joints so out popped idea no 1. Cut up some old bike tyres and push them on to the edge of the table top to protect it as I roll it along. Who knew that bike tyres have metal running around the inside rims? Much sawing with a hacksaw and the tyres were cut open. The metal was still pulling the tyres into too small a circle so I cut through the metal 4 or 5 times to break the curve. But unfortunately the tyres wouldn't stay on. Then came idea no 2. I had a long piece of hardboard which I placed under the table legs so that I could drag the whole thing along like a sledge. Hard work but do-able and that's how the table arrived down in the front yard. 

After a bit of a break I was back weeding in the scree garden. I've got nearly all the weeds out but there is still more tidying up to do. At the same time I rescued some seedlings of a blue grass that I just love and planted them in my propagating garden.  I was going to make some flapjacks for Peter but discovered that we have hardly any sugar so that will have to wait until tomorrow.