but not on the patch :o)
I know I'm like a broken record - & showing my age by saying that - but where has the first third of the year gone ?
We've been busy here at home, trying to get the garden ready for summer & my sister in law has been painting & decorating indoors for us.
Over the past month, Shaun has been hacking away at the ivy on the side of the garage & made a trellis for a variegated Jasmine & for the honeysuckle that we found hidden in the ivy. It's just a large root & one single branch with a few leaves on it at the moment, but hopefully, it'll thrive now it's not being strangled :o)
This past week, we've had the garden path widened so Shaun can get up to the top of the garden in his wheelchair & we've also had the slabs that I'd just chucked down, laid properly. But, that will be another blog.
This blog is Ivy-gate & the freeing of the garage wall :o)
This is what the ivy looked like & has done ever since we moved here in 2001.
It wasn't much of a problem really, as long as we kept it cut across the top to stop it creeping in where the roof meets the walls. How it managed when there's no gap is a mystery, but that's ivy for you :o)
However, I decided I wanted it gone. Don't know why, I just had a funny 5 minutes & that was that. My mind was made up :o)
Shaun decided it was something he could do from his wheelchair, so he set to. It would have only taken him a day or so in his pre-wheelchair days, but it took about a week to get the ivy off & another 4 days to get the root out.
Right at the back, attached to the wall, was this bird house. We'd never seen it before, so it must have been there a good 15-20 years or so.
Also in among the ivy was this old bird's nest. It was pretty much dust & only held together by luck. I thought there was a nest in there a couple of years ago because I'd seen birds flying in with worms, but although I'd had a poke about, hadn't found it.
One half of the ivy off the side wall. Shaun's made another bird house to replace the one we found, but whether the birds will use it or if it'll just be decoration, only time will tell..
I'm hoping like mad that now the ivy has gone, the snails will not be as plentiful this year !! :o)
As you can see, there were hundreds of them, all hidden in the leaves & clinging to the wall. The birds had a good feast with the ones I flung on the garage roof ! :o)
Nearly all gone. Just a few bits left & the huge root. After it was all off, I wire brushed the walls & Shaun scraped as far as he could reach & we prepared it for painting.
Just the root to go & it put up a fight !!
It grew under & on top of the cement footings.
Grandson 1a helped to cut it out . . .
& Grandson 1b helped fill in the hole it left :o)
Ivy all gone, flower bed prepared. All it needed now was to be painted.
Grandson 1a & . . .
Grandson 1b were on hand as willing helpers . . .
& this is the end result. I painted the far left side as Shaun's wheelchair couldn't get down there & I also did all the high bits, green & cream :o)
All it needs now is the trellis on the walls, the flower bed needs to be planted up & I'm going to put pea shingle on it to help keep weeds down.
A good few weeks work & even though it's caused Shaun some health problems along the way, he feels a real sense of achievement.
Our garden has always been bright & sunny, but I think this year it'll be even more so.
IF we get a summer, that is :o)
