More pottering.....

Adrian was a busy bee before his knee op and got the fence in the back garden stained.  Talking of his op, I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that he had the stitches out yesterday ~ hard to believe that two weeks have gone by already!  All seems to be well and he is gradually increasing his walking.  Hopefully it won't be long before he can get out again on those long walks he so loves 😊

The wheelbarrow was in the garden when we moved in.  The wheel is bent over to one side, so it's not much use for its original purpose!  I got Adrian to drill some drainage holes in it, and I'm going to use it for spring bedding and bulbs this year.  I may plant it up permanently next year with little alpines.

I brought the bay tree with me from our old garden.  It has spent spring and summer in the corner between the wheelbarrow and garden chairs, but since the autumn winds have been creeping in I thought it best to move it somewhere a little more sheltered.  Last year I brought it into the sun porch but I don't think it really liked it in there.  The little erigerons around its base definitely didn't like being in the porch, and I thought I had lost them.  But they gradually forgave me and although they aren't as lush as when I planted them, they are improving all the time.

This galvanised water tank was in the roof space above the downstairs bathroom.  When the guys replaced the roof they took it out and I decided to keep it as I thought I could make use of it somewhere in the garden.  I was originally going to line it and make a nature pool, but I've decided instead to plant it with a small selection of herbs next spring.

I finally got round to emptying two of these pots.  They were filled with weeds and alchemilla mollis.  It took a fair bit of pulling and digging to get the soil and plants out of the pots ~ talk about pot-bound!  I love alchemilla mollis and have now got them planted in the garden where I think they will be much happier.  The remaining pot has got mint in it.  I am going to take it out of this pot and sink it into the garden in another one at some point, probably near the compost bins.

The fairy is sitting in what was a birdbath.  Unfortunately it got cracked, so I planted houseleeks in it.  It, too, came from our old house.  The houseleeks seem happy enough placed here.  I shall leave the other pots empty for now, but expect I will use them for seasonal bedding in due course.

This windowbox is outside the kitchen window.  The erigerons in here have been lovely all year and are still blooming like mad!  They are called "Sea of Blossoms" and they certainly live up to their name!

Not to be outdone by Adrian, I too have been a busy bee and the garden shed is now looking neat and tidy.  We had some vinyl flooring leftover from the craft and store rooms, so Adrian patched the pieces together and glued them to the shed floor a couple of months back.  It makes a much easier surface to keep clean than the wooden floor was.  There is now a battery-operated light fixed above the potting bench, too.  As you can see, there is a window in the shed but it is rather small.  Unfortunately this was the best place for the shelving unit, hence there being very few things stored on the shelf across the window!

Since I took these photos, we have now got a couple of tool hanging racks put up.  It's good to get the tools off the floor and safely coralled on the wall!  The cardboard stash in the corner is for mixing with the grass clippings in the compost bins.  The stool belonged to my Grandma ~ I think originally it was a kitchen chair that somehow lost it's back.  I crocheted the cover for it a few years ago.

I decided to give my potting bench a coat of paint, using Annie Sloan chalk paint in Primer Red.  It's the first time I've ever used chalk paint, and I really liked it ~ not least because no sanding or priming is required!  The lower shelves are dedicated to my houseplant sundries.  Although the bench has a nice aluminium top, I thought it prudent to get myself a potting tray in an attempt to keep mess to a minimum LOL  I decided to treat myself to a handmade wooden tray, rather than one made from plastic ~ I'm really pleased with it and my spick 'n' span gardening shed 😍