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Busy few days with added coincidence

20 comments


Been a busy few days, what with one thing and another.

Thought it was about time I dug up the last bed, under the lounge windows. I was going to be painting that wall soon-ish, and needed the ground cleared so I could get at as much of the wall as possible.

Most of the bed is being used for stacking pots and trays that I need handy for repotting or can’t find space for anywhere else, but there was a small rose that I’d inherited from the previous tenant, and a few grape hyacinth at the end of the bed nearest the step.

I didn’t take any pics of the bed as a whole, but I found it in the periphery of another pic, which I cropped – I put a mini-obelisk over the rose to mark the position so I didn’t cover it or step back on it – it seems to be in flower, but that’s the decorations on the hooks behind it.

I also wanted to get out the grape hyacinth bulbs – there’d been a few in flower at the inner, step-side end, but not many; I wanted them, like the rose, to be somewhere I could see ‘em better.

So I started digging up and sieving the dirt. I was rather surprised to find dozens of bulbs; hadn’t noticed that many flowering! but I had enough to plant three troughs (maybe overplant, as I did squeeze them in, rather) – the third trough also has the Tête-à-Tête narcissi that I’d bought in a very small pot earlier this year.

That took two days; at the end of which I was able to firm the dirt (with a bit of wood and a heavy foot!) and then could put the planters back. I’m so used to having tables to raise the plants that these looked sadly out of place.

Thought, I need something to lift them, but didn’t think that propping them up on stacked pots would do much good – besides, I’d need a lot of the larger pots for the upcoming repotting session, and didn’t fancy constantly moving the troughs to get at the pots under them.

I thought I’d done enough for one go – apart from all this, I’d painted half the wall behind the back door – and it was getting late, so “sufficient unto the day” etc. Went out to get some milk (overdue for a cuppa!); took a bag of rubbish out while I was going out anyway: saw something by the bins, looked closer, and saw a couple of benches, with a sign on them:

Got the milk, hoping that the benches would still be there when I got back. They were; went in, got my mega-trolley, and lugged ‘em back. Left them overnight, it was getting dark by now and it was quite an effort to get them home; they’re fairly chunky and I’d done a quite a bit of physical stuff that day already.

Next morning I scrubbed them all over and left them to dry, hoping it wouldn’t rain. Next morning I was out there about nine am! I didn’t really feel like it, but the day was already quite warm and I wanted to give them as much drying time as possible. I hoisted them to my work table, upside down, and varnished them – thought they were worth weatherproofing as much as I could, As the feet were going to be on the ground I wanted to make sure I covered them thoroughly. Left them to dry overnight, then turned them over, varnished the tops, left them to dry again …

(there’s a bit of added texture on the tops, thanks to the fragments of blossom from the trees in the green) – moved the planters out of the way so that I could paint that bit of wall – broke off the behind-door wall for this purpose, no point putting the benches and planters down if I’d have to move them again the next day:

… and finally got the benches into place (the paint was still a bit tacky, but I thought it wouldn’t matter if the benches were glued to the wall) …

… and put the planters on them.

I still can’t quite get over the coincidence: the very day that I find that I need something to lift the planters above ground level, there’s two benches left for someone to recycle. If I’d seen them a week before, I’d have grabbed them on the “come in handy for something” principle. A week later and I’d have grabbed them to go where they are now. But for it to happen on the very same day …

Of course, they could have been there for days before I saw them, but I doubt it; useful things left there don’t tend to hang around for long.

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Comments

 

well done fran, they are perfect!!

29 May, 2012

 

Brilliant Fran, a girl after my own heart, love recycling. They look great there.

29 May, 2012

 

already they've got more plants on: my main prob with repotting is to tell what I've done from what needs doing, so I need to put hte "done" ones somewhere different. Once I've finally done 'em all, I'll be able to try to make a display, rather than just pots put wherever they'll go.

I'm not sure when the hyacinths will bloom next, spring, I suppose, so they can be put out of the way to rest in a more unobtrusive place, and I can fill the benches with more imposing plants. But still a way to go before they're all done - I only managed 11, had to give up before I fell over, sigh.

29 May, 2012

 

You are so resourceful Fran. I like the tables they look fab. You are beginning to have an impact on that space. It will soon be beautiful if you carry on like that.

29 May, 2012

 

So, that's what you have been up to..... That's made a really good bench to show off your plants. Hope we get to see them soon.

29 May, 2012

 

thanks Poppy and Ojib. I'm slowly getting there, though I'm still not sure where "there" is yet! but at least there's another raisecd space to fill - and if I get some wood, maybe I can make it even bigger.

The first pic I can find of the garden was taken in January last yeawr, so I've only been at it about eighteen months - and thet's just a couple of troughs on the paving. I can't believe how much I've changed the garden in that time - *s* I'll have to do a "then and now" to compare.

29 May, 2012

 

I just love coincidences! They happen to me so often! Just like you, I need something, go about my daily business, and the 'something' somehow turns up! The best of all was having left my husband, moved in with my parents while I got myself sorted, then moved into a bedsit with my daughters and who should be in a bedsit downstairs? My soul-mate! So here we are - 23 years later - still as in love as ever and living in Paradise! Keep on with the coincidences, Fran - it could change your life!

30 May, 2012

 

Good for you, Nariz! Gives me some hope, too :-) lol not sure about Mr Right, I might settle for Mr Rich or Mr Available!

Of course, coinicdences happen all the time, it 's just that mostly they're so small that we don't hardly notice them - and then there's the big 'uns that sort of smack you in the eye, and then again there's the huge life-changing ones! or is that synchronicity? Whatever it is, glad it exists!

30 May, 2012

 

well done Fran:))))

30 May, 2012

 

thanks, Mark; I'm still in recovery, lol

30 May, 2012

 

It looks perfect now :)))

30 May, 2012

 

not quite yet, Katrina, but getting there!

31 May, 2012

 

Hi Fran. Benches look great :o)

12 Jun, 2012

 

thanks, TT; hope I put enough varnish on 'em to make 'em a bit weatherproof, though given how much rain we've had lately ...

and the best bit is not only were they totally free, they arrived on my radar on teh very day that I realised i could do with something like that!

12 Jun, 2012

 

That was good timing ..
I hope they stay weatherproof :o)

13 Jun, 2012

 

i especially varnished the feet, as they'd be standing in puddles unless i was lucky! I'll give them another coat as soon as the weather allows and they dry off from the last lot of rain. that can only help.

13 Jun, 2012

 

Good idea to give the feet extra varnish ..

13 Jun, 2012

 

lol thinking of fitting "wellies" on them (provided that I don't leave gaps for the water to get down inside!), or standing them on brisks or something, to make extra sure they're off the ground and not liable to stand in puddles.

15 Jun, 2012

 

Yes ... raise them off the ground somehow ...
maybe not wellies.. Lol.

15 Jun, 2012

 

lol no, but something waterproof that's firmly fixed at the top to stop water pooling. hmm just thought; I have some plastic cups to prevent sofa legs sinking into the carpet and making marks; my sofa's legs are too chunky, but they might work, inverted, to rest the legs on enough to keep them dry-ish

15 Jun, 2012

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