Reclaiming the Plot

After spending all week on the verge of melting into a puddle, we made it down the allotment to tackle what used to be a well-tended plot. As we arrived, I looked at the plot in despair. There were so many weeds and it was going to take hours to get it back under control. But we had to make a start! 

As my husband fed the chickens, I grabbed the secateurs and began to hack at the willow screen. Those poor secateurs! They have had such a beating today! The top of the willow screen has needed trimming for months, I’ve been avoiding it. But with the step ladder, I managed to cut it back even though the top wasn’t particularly level.

Moving on, I began the entire process again with the willow arch. It seemed like it had doubled in width and tripled in height in the past week! I worked my way down the path side slowly shifting the ladder each time I had cleared a section. By now my husband was busily working away weeding two of the big beds.

After clearing two beds, his eyes and nose streaming, my husband beat a hasty retreat back home to escape the pollen. Determined to finish the entire willow arch, I battled on, cutting the other side of the willow arch. Sorting out the top of the willow arch was very difficult. The top is really wide and I couldn’t reach across the entire width. Ideally, I would trim it from the path side. Unfortunately, this wasn’t possible so I ended up balancing rather precariously on the step ladder at full stretch trying to prune the top of the willow arch. Eventually, it was done but not before I shredded my arms and got a good collection of blisters on my hands.

After taking a short break, I headed over to the patio and began to weed between the slabs. It’s a small job but it definitely made a big difference. As I got towards the shed, I realised that the weeds between our plot and Will’s were huge! I pulled the worst of the weeds and created a massive pile on the patio.

By now, it was dinner time so I headed home, planning what to do tomorrow. The remaining beds need weeding and I will definitely need to spend some time working out how to restore the fruit section.